For Your Sake
by Soft Ripple
Summary: Bella is in love with Edward who doesn't notice. How can he when he has to deal with his violent father? But then Edward lands in jail, can Bella stay by his side or will things change between them forever? All Human. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, I'm back with a whole new story including most of my favourite characters. Remember I don't own any of these characters as Stephenie Meyer thought of them first and claimed them. Now without further ado, I present to you the first chapter of For Your Sake. By the way, I plan on using the plot of this story for a book I might publish some day so I just want to tell you all not to pinch any of my ideas.**

**For Your Sake: Chapter 1**

EPOV

I got out of my bed groggily as I switched off my alarm clock at 6 am. A lot of people would say I'm crazy for getting up this early but if they knew my father, then they would think that I am the most sane person there is but than again I preferred not to be associated with my father, whom I hated passionately, might I add. I splashed cold water onto my face to knock these unpleasant thoughts out of my head as well as to wake myself up. I got dressed and ran down the stairs as fast and as quietly as I possibly could so as not to wake my father, if I could, I would take my mother and leave this place behind as far as possible.

But I was still underage, and my mother was too ill to take responsibility of the both of us and leave. I could never leave my mother alone to cope with my father; she was much too weak and afraid of him to fight back against him, who gambled, smoke and drank and sometimes got violent towards her. However, he daren't do anything whilst I was in the room, he used to abuse me as well, until I got tall enough to tower over him, I was also stronger than him now thanks to the long hours of hard labour I had suffered at the gym for the last couple of years, for my mother's sake.

It was a small comfort to think that I was nothing like my father, apart from his broad shoulders and build; I had inherited nothing else from him. Whenever I looked at him, at how rude, selfish and greedy he was, I would always decide that I would be the complete opposite and I suppose that in turn was what had helped to make me a better person. I came into the kitchen where my mother was making breakfast for the both of us; I gave her a peck on the cheek which she barely acknowledged as she kept peering anxiously up the stairs for the sound of my father's footsteps. Although this was her usual routine, I could not stop the surge of anger and hatred for my father that overcame me for reducing my mother to this condition.

Mom placed a plate of breakfast in front of me as I smiled back at her, I always made sure I was smiling in front of her, to try and reassure her, to ease some of her misery.

"Are you going to Esme's house later on?" I enquired, hoping that the answer would be yes. Esme was my friends, Alice and Emmet Cullen's mom, she looked after my mom as she knew that she was ill but I always made sure that she never found out what the reason for mom's illness was as Esme thought that my father protected and loved my mom. The trouble that would be caused if she ever discovered that that was a lie would be irreversible.

"I'm not sure, maybe" mom answered nervously, she was always nervous even when she was out of this monster's dungeon, sorry, I mean our house.

I nodded and finished my breakfast before giving my mom another peck on the cheek before leaving the house. I hated leaving my mom alone in the mornings but I had to go to school, at least I had the comfort of knowing that she would be leaving for work soon. I walked over to Emmet and Alice's house, my ride to school for this morning. I knew how to drive but with my father always gambling, our family didn't have the money to buy me a car of my own. We just about managed to satisfy our daily needs thanks to my mom working.

I knocked on the Cullen's front door, my anxiety for my mom making me impatient.

"Hey Eddie" Emmet boomed as he opened the front door with his usual goofy grin plastered onto his face.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, Emmet?" I sighed in exasperation.

"Err, let me see, last time I counted, it was about the billionth time" Emmet grinned at me as I rolled my eyes at his childishness.

"Alright, where's Alice?" I asked.

"Last time I checked, she was still getting ready" Emmet shrugged.

"Well, tell her that if she doesn't get down here now, we'll be late, it's only school for god's sake, not an audience with the president" I said tetchily.

"Edward, man, you need to relax, she'll be here in a minute, why are you always so tense in the mornings?" Emmet responded. I said nothing, how could I possibly tell Emmet of all people that the reason I was so tense in the mornings was because I was always so racked with worry for my mom?

"Okay, let's go" Alice trilled as her small pixie-like form bounced out of the front door, the sunlight bouncing of her spiky, jet black hair. I sighed at her ever-lasting- energy. I didn't sigh because I was frustrated or sad or anything. I sighed because I knew that Alice and Emmet together was an exhausting bundle of work that you could not let out of your sight for even a second and that was just what I needed to take my mind off my troubles at home. I needed my loyal, trustworthy friends who were such great friends that you could never find anyone as good as them even if you searched through the whole world.

My friends who would never abandon me were Emmet and Alice Cullen, Rosalie and Jasper Hale, and Bella Swan. They were all so loyal, kind and trustworthy, but despite all of this, I still could never tell them about my father because they would get involved and try to help. My father would most likely get taken away to prison or something but that was not why I did not tell anyone about him, I hated him and wished with every fibre of my body that he wasn't part of my life but if he were taken away, that would destroy my mother for she loved him still and believed that he did too and I could never hurt my mother like that.

I got into the car with Alice and Emmet, glad that I could turn to my friends and know that they would help me by taking my mind off these things even though they were all unaware of all of this, but I was still glad that they were my friends.

BPOV

I arrived at school and parked my truck. I then got out and waited for all of my friends. Rosalie and Jasper arrived first and I was talking to them when we all saw Edward, Alice and Emmet arrive. Emmet ran towards Rosalie and engulfed her in a passionate kiss whilst Alice sprinted gracefully towards Jasper and gave him a small peck on the cheek. We all glanced at Emmet and Rosalie who still hadn't separated and we rolled our eyes.

"Good morning, Bella" Edward greeted me.

I felt my heart accelerate as I looked up at him, at his disarrayed, bronze hair, his shimmering green eyes, his adorable crooked smile, and every other beautiful feature of him. My heart was beating so loudly that I was surprised Edward couldn't hear it and tell how deeply in love with him I was. But why would it ever make a difference to him? He only thought of me as a friend, his clumsy, silly friend.

"Well, it's not going to be a good morning for long as we have biology next" I replied teasingly but was secretly thrilled that I have a lesson with Edward, the prodigy of beauty.

Edward chuckled and a thrill went through me upon the sound of his musical laugh. His glance wandered off to Emmet and Rosalie who were still making out and his smiled turned into a grimace. Alice and Jasper, like us, were also staring at Emmet and Rosalie.

I heard Alice mutter from beside me "Okay, this has gone on long enough, any longer and they'll be treated to a sight of my breakfast".

I laughed and was about to tell her to make sure that she project her breakfast onto them rather than on my shoes but she had already whizzed away from my side to a boy who was drinking some water from a bottle. Edward, Jasper, and I watched her converse with the boy when she returned to us with the water bottle in her hand. We all stared at her quizzically, but she just grinned and opened the bottle.

Then so swiftly that I almost missed the movement, Alice jerked the bottle upwards whilst aiming in the direction of Emmet and Rosalie, causing a torrent of water to cascade in the air and land on the couple, drenching them from head to toe. Emmet and Rosalie broke apart with a gasp as the water soaked them. Their expressions were so puzzled and their hair was plastered to their heads as drops of water dripped from them forming a large puddle at their feet. They looked hilarious, looking so soaked and confused that we all burst into laughter. Comprehension dawned on Emmet's and Rosalie's faces as they saw the water bottle in Alice's hand.

Rosalie's expression turned livid as she looked away from her dripping hair and to Alice whose laughter instantly shrivelled up as she saw Rosalie's furious face.

"You. Got. My. Hair. Wet!" Rosalie snarled at Alice menacingly and Alice looked scared as she realized how angry Rosalie was.

"Hey, you lied, you said your friend was dehydrating" a boy accused Alice as he walked up and snatched the water bottle out of Alice's hand before walking away again.

Rosalie let out a screech as she lunged for Alice, or should I say, tried to lunge at Alice as Jasper caught Rosalie and endeavoured to restrain her whilst Alice squealed and ran to cower behind Edward who, like me, was shaking with silent laughter as he tried to refrain from laughing hysterically aloud.

"Don't worry, Rose, I'll teach her a lesson she won't forget" Emmet grinned at Rosalie who stopped struggling in Jasper's arms.

Jasper let go of Rosalie and ran to stand by Alice's side, near Edward. Emmet walked up to Alice, stooped down and started shaking his head wildly from side to side so that millions of drops of water fell on Alice, soaking her as well. However, Rosalie was standing nearby and so received a handful of water in her face as Emmet shook his head. Alice and Rosalie both squealed at him to stop, whilst Edward, Jasper and I rolled about laughing.

"Emmet, you giant moron, you just got me even more wet! Stop it!" Rosalie screeched so loudly that several other students turned to look in our direction.

Emmet froze in the position of a crouch with his back bent and his head down as he stopped in the middle of shaking his head dry. He stood upright very slowly to see Rosalie's furious expression.

"Hey, Rose, baby, I didn't see you there" Emmet laughed shakily.

Rosalie turned to Alice, who was also looking at Emmet angrily as her spiky hair dripped water, and said "I'll kill you later after you help me kill this idiot".

Alice nodded and they turned to glare at Emmet.

"Emmet, I'd say you have three seconds to start running" Jasper choked out through his barely concealed laughter.

Emmet needed no more telling, he gulped, swivelled around and sprinted away in the opposite direction as though his life depended on it which was the case because Alice and Rosalie were ready to kill him.

"Emmet Cullen, I am going to murder you!" Rosalie shrieked as she ran after him, Alice right on her heels.

Jasper, Edward and I burst into laughter as we watched Emmet race around the parking lot frantically with Rosalie and Alice chasing after him.

"Well, we'd better get to class or we'll be late, I don't think Emmet will even live to explain why he was late" Jasper said in between laughs.

Edward and I nodded, laughing too hard to even speak.

We entered the building. Edward and I said bye to Jasper as we walked together to our biology class. The two of us walked without saying anything to each other, still chuckling now and then as we thought of Emmet running for his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: If I did own any of this then I wouldn't be here mourning over that fact.**

**Chapter 2**

BPOV

Edward and I sat down at our usual table in our biology class, unpacking our books as we did so. I saw Lauren Mallory look Edward up and down as she walked in. Edward was oblivious to this, unlike me, and I glared at Lauren, hoping she would go sit down and keep her eyes away from what she had no right on. I knew that I didn't have any claim over Edward either but that didn't mean I was going to let go of the guy I loved more than anything else in the world without a fight!

I had never meant to fall in love with Edward, knowing exactly how disastrous it would be for me to fall in love with one of my closest friends but with each moment I spent with him, I had gradually realized how aware of him I became, how furious I would get whenever I saw any girl glance at him flirtatiously, although he never dated anyone nor showed any interest in anyone, it made me feel even more dejected as I knew that if no other girl, not even the prettiest ones who could never be threatened by the likes of me failed to attract Edward's attention then what chance did I ever have of igniting even an iota in him of what I felt for him.

Of course, Alice and all my other friends always ignored this argument of mine, insisting that Edward did love me but just didn't know it yet, therefore it was my duty to confess my feelings for him is what they always concluded. However, I always ignored these ludicrous notions of theirs as being friends with Edward was enough for me, a lot of girls around here didn't even have that.

Edward was the sweetest, most beautiful, caring, kind person you could ever hope to find and anyone who even had the honour of knowing him was immensely lucky. Therefore, knowing that my close friendship with him was unbreakable was enough for me. I could live with that, as long as I knew that Edward would always be there by my side, loyal and content; then I would be content, which was enough, that was all I needed to get through the day.

"Earth to Bella" Edward said as he snapped his fingers in front of me jerking me out of my pool of thoughts about him.

"I know the lesson is very bad at holding your attention but I'm sure Chief Swan would gladly arrest his daughter for flunking biology this year" Edward told me with an amused look in his shimmering green eyes.

"Well, at least in prison, I would have all the time in the world to zone out" I joked.

"I'm not sure I could stay at all happy if I had to visit you in jail, Bella, my day wouldn't be at all pleasant if I didn't have you around" Edward replied.

"Well, don't worry; I think this class is pretty much the equivalent to a prison so you don't have to visit me at all because you're stuck in here with me" I teased.

Edward just grinned at me, showing me all of his ultra white, perfect teeth and I felt something inside of me stumble and fall without ever reaching a landing. I turned away from his perfect face so that he wouldn't be able to see the effect he had on me.

Biology moved fast as I had my thoughts trained on Edward. I hardly heard anything that was mentioned in the lesson as I lost myself in fantasies of a world where Edward loved me as much as I loved him. The bell rang making me jump which caused Edward to laugh.

"Daydreaming again, are we?" he chuckled.

"Well, it's like you said before, this lesson is just so bad at holding my attention" I replied, not adding that that was only because I was always so distracted by him, marvelling over how much love he sparked in me.

"Well, let's go to lunch, I want to see if Emmet survived" Edward stated with humour evident on his face.

I couldn't prevent a huge grin spread across my face upon the thought of Emmet's hilarious predicament.

Edward grinned back at me and gestured politely for me to lead the way, just like the perfect gentleman he was. I walked to the door, the heel of my boot slipping on a stray piece of paper I didn't see which gave my streak of clumsiness the opportunity to assault me with full force. I slipped and fell backwards, landing hard on the floor, all the impact going to my left wrist painfully. I looked up to see Edward's worried face a couple of centimetres away from mine; he was so close I could feel his breath on my face. I moved slightly to try and sit up but I felt a shooting pain in my wrist causing me to gasp in agony.

Edward leaned in and slid a hand beneath my back; I felt a thrill shoot through me upon his gentle touch. His expression was so worried and concerned that I felt my heart inflate with adoration for him. He looked up to meet my eyes and I gazed into that glowing pool of emerald green feeling all the agony leave me as I stared into his gorgeous eyes, his tousled, bronze hair flopping slightly over his forehead. With his help, I managed to sit up, we were the only ones left in the class. Edward slid his arm around my waist as he helped me stand and he held my uninjured hand with his free one. I felt safe and secure with his arm around my waist like this and I relished in the pleasure his touch gave me.

"Okay, I know how much you hate attention which is exactly what you would get if I took you to the school office. I don't think your wrist is hurt too badly so I think you'll be fine until after school when you can get Carlisle to check it out for you" Edward murmured to me as he massaged my injured wrist slightly, so gently that it hardly felt like he was touching me at all but his gentle touch really did help to ease some of the pain.

"Do you think you need to go home?" Edward enquired, looking up from my wrist, putting an end to his reassuring massage, however, he draped his arm loosely back on my waist to help steady me.

However, he thought that I was unsteady from the injury I had sustained when in fact I was actually endeavouring to not pass out from his proximity and his gentle touch.

I slowly shook my head 'no' and he tightened his hold on my waist, gently steering me to the door. I could have told him that I was fine and was perfectly capable of walking without his help but I just simple wasn't ready to feel his touch vanish. I wanted him to keep his arm around my waist. I internally groaned as I realized this, _'Wow, Bella, you have it bad for him" _I thought miserably to myself.

We reached the cafeteria with Edward's arm still around my waist. He kept stealing glances at me now and then making sure that I wasn't in too much pain but pain was the last thing I was feeling right now. I was trembling with excitement upon having his arm around me even if it was just a friendly gesture to help guide an injured friend to her seat. I saw Alice sitting at our usual table and then I saw her eyes widen with excitement as she spied Edward's hold on me. I sighed loudly as I realized what ridiculous ideas might be thronging around in Alice's head. Edward looked at me as he overheard my sigh and he must have misunderstood it for pain because he then quickened his pace.

We reached the table where Alice was sitting and Edward made sure that I was comfortably seated before removing his grasp on me, much to my disappointment. He threw one anxious glance at me, searching my face for any signs of pain and when he found none, he went to sit in his own seat, which, fortunately, was beside me. He didn't look quite satisfied and I knew that he was still debating over whether or not he should make sure that I should go home.

"Relax, Edward, I am absolutely fine, I'll get Carlisle to check my wrist later on" I assured Edward.

"Why? What happened to you, Bella?" Alice asked in a panicked voice.

"Relax, Alice, I just tripped and hurt my wrist. I'll be fine" I assured her, giving her as well as Edward a stern look that conveyed quiet clearly that I did not want any fuss to be made over this. Edward pursed his lips and I could tell that he wanted to argue but I shook my head determinedly at him.

"So, Alice, I hope you spared Emmet" I grinned at Alice, trying to divert their minds from my wrist.

"Oh, yeah, I got tired of chasing after him so I gave up, but I don't think Rosalie has forgiven him yet so you guys might find him hiding behind a tree from Rose's wrath" Alice replied, shrugging.

I could see that wild gleam in her eye as she looked at me, the gleam she normally got from shopping and I instantly knew that this could not possibly mean anything good for me.

"Edward, I think Jasper went to go help save Emmet, they're somewhere out in the parking lot, I think. I think you ought to help him, Rosalie is still pretty furious" Alice instructed Edward.

Edward nodded with a mischievous glint in his eyes; I could tell that he and Jasper were going to enjoy watching Emmet suffer. Edward got up from the table; he aimed a breathtaking smile at me before he walked off.

"Okay, Bella, there is no way that you can deny he feels the same way about you after his behaviour today" Alice threw at me as soon as Edward was out of earshot.

"What are you talking about, Alice?" I asked wearily.

I was already feeling tired at the prospect of what I knew was going to be a long argument.

"Oh, come on, Bella, you cannot be telling me that you did not see how overprotective and worried Edward was for you, you might not be able to see it, but I could tell just from the way he was looking at you that he loves you, he just doesn't know it yet which is why you have to tell him your feelings to make him realize that he loves you too" Alice explained in the way a very patient teacher might be explaining something to a very stubborn four year old for the fifth hundred time and in fact that was the case. Alice had been telling me the same theory over and over again for the last couple of months.

"Alice, he only thinks of me as a friend, a very close friend and he really cares for me which explains his behaviour today but that doesn't mean that he loves me" I contradicted.

"Oh, please, looking at Edward was like looking at a mirror image of how my Jasper would react and if Jasper and me aren't true love, then I don't know what is" Alice scoffed.

"That's just because Edward and Jasper are both very sensitive gentlemen, Alice, they have that in common so you would think they're a mirror image of each other" I insisted adamantly.

"Whatever, Bella, some day, you're going to realize that I am always right and that this time is no exception" Alice stated confidently and I just sighed at her stubbornness as we lapsed into comfortable silence.

"Hey, everyone, I'm still alive" I heard Emmet sigh as he sank down onto a chair at our table.

I was about to look up at him and say 'I'm glad', but my voice died as I saw the state he was in. There were twigs and leaves stuck in his dark curly hair, his clothes were stained with mud and dirt and he looked as though he'd been running but then attacked as he ran.

"Jeez, Rose, what did you do to him? Ambush him or something?" Alice cried in a shocked voice as she turned to Rosalie.

Rosalie opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the explosion of laughter that came from Edward and Jasper. Alice and I glanced at Rosalie quizzically but she too joined in the laughter.

"Err, would someone mind telling us what's going on?" I enquired as Alice continued to stare at everyone as though she were seriously worried about their sanity.

"Well, Jasper and I were watching Rosalie chase Emmet, he just carried on running away like a girl" Edward choked out through his laughter; Emmet scowled at him upon the last part, although I still didn't understand what was so funny.

Jasper seemed to have gained the most control over himself and so picked up the story from where Edward left off.

"Anyway, Emmet was running away from Rosalie, but then we saw him stumbling around waving his hands around in the air, we had thought he had finally lost the last pieces of his mind but then we saw him turn around and run, screaming "Wasps! Rosie, help" and then he tripped on his shoelace and fell into a bush, it looked so hilarious" Jasper finished with an amused chortle.

I giggled slightly as I tried to imagine the scene. I giggled even more as I turned to Emmet and queried "Are you afraid of wasps?"

"What? No way" Emmet responded forcefully.

"You are such a liar, Emmet, I still remember the incident from when you were eight years old" Alice retorted, laughing.

Emmet narrowed his eyes at his sister as he said menacingly "Don't even go there".

Alice ignored him as she turned to the rest of us who had been watching the two of them curiously.

"You see when Emmet was eight years old, he really wanted a pet but mom and dad said no because they knew he wasn't responsible enough yet. So Emmet saw a wasp in the garden, he liked their stripes and kept on following them as they buzzed around in our garden. He decided that he wanted one for a pet and that our parents wouldn't mind because they were so small, so he got a jar and tried to catch one but he accidentally squashed the wasp so he tried to pick it up to give it a funeral but I guess the wasp was still alive because it stung Emmet. Emmet howled and fell into a bush where there were more wasps; he got stung a couple more times and then ran back inside crying, for a while after that, Emmet was convinced that the wasp's ghost would come back to haunt him so whenever he saw a wasp, he would run halfway down the street." Alice finished with a roll of her eyes and we all started laughing at this revelation of Emmet.

"Wow, you were even more childish and silly back then" Edward laughed.

"Shut it, Eddiepoo" Emmet growled which caused Edward's laughter to vanish as he glowered at Emmet.

"Come on, Emmet, ignore them and the wasps, you're a man, you shouldn't be afraid of wasps" Rosalie scolded Emmet.

Emmet said nothing but just bowed his head in embarrassment.

I caught Edward's eye and I grinned at him, pleased with the fact that I could actually see Emmet embarrassed and Edward winked at me. I turned away, still smiling but my smile turned into a grimace as I saw Alice's eyes twinkle at me and I knew that she had seen mine and Edward's exchange, she was never going to let this go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Even though I still don't own any of this, please review.**

**Chapter 3**

EPOV

We all walked out into the parking lot once we were dismissed from school. Rosalie and Jasper walked over to their red BMW convertible whilst I, along with Emmet and Alice, walked Bella to her truck. She was still holding her wrist awkwardly from her previous fall and I couldn't help but worry about her. Bella was vulnerable, just like my mother, and I had always from an early age looked after my mother as though I was the parent. Bella was vulnerable like her and I wanted to protect her as best as I can just as I would for my mother.

Bella stopped at her truck and turned to bid us all goodbye, she saw my anxious glance at her wrist and smiled reassuringly but I didn't trust that smile. She was known for attempting to lie and hide things from people despite being a dreadful liar. I tried to smile back as I fought the urge to insist on taking her to the hospital but she shook her head obstinately at me knowing what I was thinking, she knew me so well. I sighed in defeat as I leaned in to hug her gently so as not to jostle her wrist.

"Take care of yourself; I don't want you falling down for the rest of the day, okay?" I whispered into her ear.

She pulled back out of my hug to smile at me.

"You worry way too much, Edward, I've fallen down loads of time and I always survive, I could probably break a world record for the amount of falls I've had" Bella joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere as always.

"It's a miracle that you haven't already" I sighed.

"Okay, love birds, stop flirting and let's go" Emmet boomed.

I glared at Emmet as Bella blushed, no doubt he was trying to get me back for laughing at him about the wasp incident but two could play at that game.

I glared at him for a couple more moments as he grinned triumphantly at me and Bella, who was still blushing furiously.

I let him grin stupidly before yelling in a terrified voice: "Look out, Em, there's a giant wasp coming right behind you!"

"What? Where?" Emmet yelped as he swivelled around and tried to run at the same time causing him to stumble.

I laughed as Emmet fell to the ground, landing on his ass, I heard Alice's tinkling laugh join in as Bella's quiet giggle also chimed in.

"You're going to pay for that one, Eddiekins" Emmet vowed as he stood up.

"Whatever, Emmet, there's no way you'll match what Edward did to you, now let's go!" Alice interjected.

I nodded and smiled at Bella who smiled shyly back before she climbed into her truck as I followed Emmet and Alice to their car.

Emmet was driving today and he got us to his house within ten minutes. I always told them to drop me off at their house so that I could just walk it from there. I didn't want to risk them finding out about my father's violent ways. I walked brusquely towards my house, hoping that my father would already be out at a nightclub, a pub, or gambling or whatever corrupt and disgusting activity he enjoyed engaging himself in.

I opened the door slowly and discreetly and when I could hear only silence, I walked in to see mom reading in the living room.

"I made lunch for you and your father, I'm sure John must be very hungry" mom beamed at me.

Oh god, mom was having one of those days. She thought that she was still stuck in the early, happy days of her marriage, where my father was still decent enough to not hurt her, when I was a young toddler. Mom was in one of those moods where she believed that she was still living those days. A passionate hatred for my git of a father overwhelmed me as I saw what he had reduced my mother to.

"I don't think… dad will be coming home early tonight" I told mom, adding in my head that he would be most likely be drinking in a pub whilst using the word _dad_ for her sake, whilst mentally gagging on the word as I spoke to her. I couldn't even see that monster of a husband of hers as a human being; he was a savage animal as far as I was concerned.

"Oh, so he will be working tonight" mom commented, looking crestfallen.

That was it, that deflated expression was what just caused me to lose my temper.

"Why do you even care? It's not as though that moron even cares for you" the outburst just erupted from me before I could even gain control over myself and stop those words from escaping.

I froze and stared at mom, hoping with all my heart that I hadn't hurt her feelings, however, I was surprised to find that she was staring at me with a furious and fierce expression on her face.

"He does love me" she growled.

I was taken aback but I said nothing, I had no wish to antagonise her. But I couldn't help mutter to myself:

"He has a funny way of showing it".

I hadn't realised that I had muttered that out loud but I did when mom argued:

"Edward, you have never been in love, so you don't realize that sometimes even when you can't understand the actions of that person and you want to hate them, you just can't, you have to go on loving them, not for yourself, but for their sake, so that they'll know that you'll love them no matter what and that they'll change because of your love, that they'll change for you" mom told me passionately, a fiery fervour stirring in her eyes which were green like mine.

I said nothing in response, feeling ashamed of my outburst. I loved my mom and I never wanted to hurt her or make her angry. Ever since I was a little kid, I've always had to look after her; I've always had to be the responsible one of the family, what with my father being a good-for-nothing git and my mom being mentally ill because of his barbaric treatment towards her. But, just for once, I wanted someone to look after me, instead of me always having to be the responsible protector.

"Sorry, mom" I whispered.

Mom blinked but then a happy smile spread across her face, the sort of smile a little girl would get upon realizing the prospect of a dozen presents for their birthday.

"It's our wedding anniversary tomorrow, you watch, he'll surprise me with flowers and take me out to a romantic dinner" mom gushed, that happy smile still on her face.

I felt bile rise up my throat upon this revelation and I felt something plummet downwards in my stomach as I looked at my mom's happy face as she contemplated the delusion that my father would take her out to dinner tomorrow. I felt sick as I realized with all too much clarity that my father would only want to use her as punch bag if he's not too busy gambling away money he doesn't have.

"Sure mom" I appeased, swallowing as an ancient ache constricted my heart painfully.

Mom smiled dreamily before she skipped up the stairs to her room like a happy child. She was probably going to go spend hours choosing an outfit for her romantic dinner that she would never get to go on. I could bear it no longer; I grabbed my jacket and ran out the front door, just needing to get away from the house before I broke down.

I ran away from the house, not caring where I went, I just needed to find somewhere private where I could let myself wallow in grief for my mother. I wish she would see my father for the monster he was and let us leave him but I knew that was never going to happen. I found myself in a park, sitting on a swing with my feet firmly fixed to the ground, which I know totally undermined the purpose of the swing but I just sat on the swing, with my head in my hands as I let my mind wander freely to fantasies of what my life could have been if it weren't for my father.

"Edward?" I heard a voice say above me. I lifted my head to see Bella standing in front of me with a concerned expression on her face.

I suppose I probably did look quite broken, sitting down on a swing with my head in my hands, but that's exactly what I was: broken.

"Bella, what are you doing out here?" I asked my voice hoarse.

"I was just going for a walk when I saw you here, is everything alright, Edward?" Bella said, peering at me anxiously.

I should lie, but everyone in Forks knew that my mother was ill, they just didn't know how much and why. I decided that I could tell Bella the truth, or part of it, at least. I needed her support at this moment.

"My mom's not getting any better, worse by the looks of it" I whispered.

I heard Bella sigh sympathetically and she wrapped an arm around my shoulders comfortingly. This made me feel somewhat better or maybe I was just enjoying her company.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Edward, but I wouldn't feel too badly, she'll manage somehow" Bella told me reassuringly, however, her words meant nothing to me as I had lost hope of this, years ago.

"What makes you say that?" I questioned.

"She will manage because she has got the most caring, thoughtful son to look after her and I know that you would never let her come to any harm, Edward, you love her too much" Bella stated.

I could hear the confidence and affection in her voice and this made me feel better, Bella always knew the right things to say. Her arm rubbed soothing circles into my back.

"Has it ever occurred to you, Bella, that you might have too much faith in me?" I asked doubtfully.

"No, Edward, I know you and if you don't have enough faith to believe this of yourself. Then try having faith in me, you know full well how bad I am at lying" Bella told me confidently.

I smiled, I did have lots of faith in Bella and she was right, it was always so obvious when she was lying. I found myself taking assurance in her words, if it were anyone else, I would still be feeling very broken and torn but as it was kind, caring, thoughtful Bella, I found that I was feeling a lot more elated than before.

"Thanks, Bella, you really are one amazing person" I replied fervently.

Bella smiled as she said empathetically "It sucks having to be the parent, doesn't it?"

"I suppose you would have some idea" I smiled back at her, remembering her stories about her mother, Rene, who lived in Jacksonville.

"I am probably the only person who can understand how hard that is" Bella smiled happily at me, although I had no idea what she seemed happy about, I felt myself smiling too, something about her smile made me want to smile too.

Although, Bella probably would never be able to empathise with half of my problems, I had to admit, she could most definitely understand the responsibility that being the parent entails.

"At least you're lucky that Charlie is fairly independent" I told her.

"Yeah, that's true, aside from his cooking" Bella grinned at me.

I sighed at how lucky she was that she was at least released from this responsibility.

"It's hard being the responsible one, I know Edward, especially when you only take up the responsibility in the first place for their sake" Bella added understandingly, her arm still around my shoulders in a consoling gesture.

For their sake. It was true, everything I endured; I endured only for my mother's sake. Thanks to Bella, I really did feel better, more strong and in control of myself. I pulled Bella in for a warm hug that I hoped showed my gratitude.

"Thanks so much, Bella, you have no idea what a great help you've been. You truly are an amazing person" I murmured to Bella.

Bella said nothing as she hugged me fondly back. She pulled away, the familiar red colour on her cheeks; I smiled as I thought of how much she blushed. I smiled warmly at her as I got up off the swing and walked back towards my home.

BPOV

I watched Edward walk away, thrilled that he and I had such an intimate conversation. My arm was still tingling from where it had been around Edward's broad, masculine shoulders. I smiled stupidly to myself as I realized that he and I both had in common the fact that we had both had to mature faster than most people in order to look after our moms. When I had learned that we had that in common, happiness had consumed me upon the thought that I could actually talk to Edward! Of all the wonderful people, I could talk to him about something so personal and that he actually felt comfortable confiding in me. However, I was saddened to hear that his mom's condition was deteriorating.

My mind drifted back to when I had found him sitting here, alone with his head in his hands, he had looked so broken and sad, that I felt my heart throb, I had to come here and see if he was fine, I was thrilled to know that Edward actually was feeling better thanks to me. I sat there for a couple more moments before I finally got up and headed towards home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: If you still don't know that I don't own anything here but the plot then I don't know where the hell you've been all this time.**

**Chapter 4**

BPOV

_RING. RING. _I groaned. Why? Why and who was bothering me at… 6am on a Saturday morning?! I looked at the caller ID on my cell phone that was on my bedside table. It was Alice. Only Alice would be insane enough to wake other people up on a Saturday morning at 6am. I just groaned. I was seriously tempted to just switch my phone off and then go back to sleep but knowing Alice, that wouldn't deter her, she'd just march down to my house and wake me up with whatever bothersome matter she wanted to discuss with me. I flipped open my phone.

"Alice, what is so important that you have to wake me up at this time of day?" I yawned into the phone, sleep still overwhelming me.

"Morning, sleepyhead, they're having a huge sale at the mall which means loads of people are going to be there claiming all the best stuff which means we're going to have get there extra early so you have to get up and get ready to leave within an hour…" Alice babbled whilst the part of my brain that was only just waking up realized with dread exactly what torture Alice's day plan entailed.

"Which means, Alice, that I am not interested in anything that has Alice and shopping in the same sentence which means I am going back to sleep" I snapped at her as I disconnected the call.

I switched off my cell phone so that she could not phone me back and put my phone back in its place. I then snuggled my head back onto the pillow on my bed whilst burying myself in the blankets.

_RING. RING. _I thought I switched my phone off. My eyes flew open as I checked my phone to see if it was off. It was. That was the house phone ringing. I groaned as I clambered out of my bed groggily. I hurried down the stairs and picked up the phone quickly before Charlie could properly awake.

"Hello" I muttered into the phone.

"Bella, you had better be ready soon otherwise I shall come down to your house and get you and let me promise you that it will not be pretty" Alice growled menacingly into the phone.

I sighed as I conceded defeat, however, I did not want Alice to come down here and get me before I can make breakfast for Charlie.

"Fine, Alice, I'll come, you don't need to come down here. I'll come there in my truck" I compromised.

"Okay Bella, see you soon" Alice trilled, the abrupt change in her tone, from menace to chirpiness disconcerting me.

So it was with that that I ended up driving my truck to Alice's house an hour later, after having left a note for Charlie saying where I was and where he would find breakfast. I was half way there when I felt my truck shudder to a halt. I tried to restart my truck when I realized there was no petrol in there. Well, that was just perfect. That was just like my perfect luck to cause my truck to leave me stranded out here.

I climbed out of my truck. Even more perfect, there was absolutely no petrol station in sight.

"Fantastic" I muttered as I kicked the tyre of my truck.

"What's fantastic?" I heard a smooth, velvet voice enquire from beside me.

"Oh. Nothing Edward, just that my truck decided to die on me at this moment when Alice will kill me if I don't get to her soon" I responded.

"Well, your truck was rather ancient" Edward chuckled.

"Hey, my truck is way older than you, you should have more respect for your elders" I shot back, playfully punching him on the arm.

"I was being respectful. I was defending your truck whilst you were accusing it off dying in your hour of need, besides it only needs more petrol so it's not dying. Yet." Edward disputed.

"Whatever. What are you doing out here so early on a Saturday morning?" I queried.

"I could ask you the exact same thing" Edward grinned.

"Alice insisted that I go with her to the mall this early so that she can get the best stuff in all the sales before anyone else" I answered, rolling my eyes at Alice's madness.

"Well, I was just going for a walk" Edward replied, although something seemed off to me about his answer, as though he were trying too hard to hide something from me.

"Alice is so going to kill me for being late" I moaned.

"Oh, don't worry, Jasper phoned me earlier on to beg me to come shopping with him Alice, Emmet, and Rosalie. Alice was already furious at you for being about 15 minutes late and she was dragging the boys along, apparently, she was so terrifying at that moment that Jasper couldn't say no to joining her. I told him that I can't come; it wasn't worth the torture to go shopping with Alice. But jasper is going with her so I don't think she'll get too mad at you if you avoid her for the rest of the day" Edward explained.

"Well, that's one problem dealt with but what am I going to do about my truck?" I moaned desperately.

"If I had a car of my own, I would offer you a ride but unfortunately I don't have a car so I'm as stuck as you on that one" Edward replied apologetically.

"I can't just leave it here!" I cried.

"I never said you had to, I was just stating that there is nothing you or I can do at this moment. Therefore, maybe it would be a good idea for you to join me on a walk" Edward suggested. I sighed as I realized there was nothing else for me to do.

"Fine, let's go" I sighed heavily.

Edward smiled at me as he began walking beside me. We talked a little about nothing very important, but mostly we strolled in comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's company. That is until rain started pouring down on us. Why didn't I bring my umbrella? This was Forks after all so how could I expect it not to rain.

"Oh my god, sometimes I really hate this town and it is at times like these" I cried over the tumult of the pounding rain.

Suddenly, an umbrella was over my head as if it were conjured out of thin air. I swivelled around to see a smiling Edward holding an umbrella over my head. He had had to come quite near me in order to shelter me under the umbrella completely. This meant that our bodies were only a couple of centimetres away from each other. I tilted my head upwards so that I could look up into his eyes. This was a mistake however, for as soon as I stared into those shimmering pools of green, I was lost and unable to form any coherent thoughts.

The rain continued to pour down around us. It felt like the rain was forming some sort of curtain that separated us from the rest of the world so that it felt like it was only Edward and me. He was wearing my favourite crooked smile as his emerald green eyes seemed to blaze with some sort of passion; he looked so gorgeous that my voice caught in my throat and it took every ounce of my will power not to throw my arms around his neck and glue my lips to his. We continued to stand like that; Edward standing only centimetres away from me, sheltering us from the heavy rain.

"You honestly didn't think that I would go on a walk everyday without an umbrella, did you? This is Forks after all" Edward exclaimed, feigning shock whilst also shattering that glass bubble that seemed to form a barrier between a world with only Edward and me and the real world.

"You go on a walk everyday?" I questioned hoarsely.

Edward was so close to me that I could feel his breath fan on my face every time he spoke which disturbed all of my thought processes. But I found it odd that someone as fit and well built up as Edward would believe that they would need to go on a walk to stay fit.

"Yeah, I do" Edward replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Why?" I enquired, thoroughly disconcerted.

"It's the only excuse I have to get out of the house for so long" Edward answered but then a very queer expression crossed his face, as though he regretted letting something slip and to be honest, I didn't really understand his answer in the first place. What did he mean that it was the only excuse he had to get out of the house for so long?

"Look, Bella, I see a café not too far away, maybe we can go in there and warm up whilst we wait for this rain to calm down" Edward suggested enthusiastically.

This made me more suspicious, it was obvious that he wanted to change the subject, but why?

I was reluctant to go inside the café as I much preferred this solitude that the rain granted me and Edward. It tempted me, just a tiny bit, to actually confess my feelings to Edward. I have no idea why, but somehow, I could only picture myself admitting my love for him in the rain. I know it sounds crazy, but in any other setting, my cowardly diffidence just prevented me from confessing my feelings.

"Alright, let's go" I agreed grudgingly.

Edward smiled and gestured for me to lead the way with one hand whilst the other held the umbrella above my head. He frowned slightly and I could somehow tell that he was thinking off the last time he told me to lead the way which resulted in my fall. He was probably deciding it was better for him to lead the way, I was about to tell him not to worry, that I fall all the time.

But before I could get all the words out of my mouth, he grasped my hand with his free one and began to pull me towards the café. Although he was leading the way which normally would've caused me to object as he thought I was going to fall again but he was also holding my hand, alright, only so that I wouldn't fall, but still, he was holding my hand so therefore I had no problem with this, on the contrary, I was blissful.

"Hello is there anything I can get you?" a waitress asked as we sat down at a table inside the cafe.

She was your classic pretty blonde and I noticed that her words were mostly aimed at Edward whilst she batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at him. It took all my restraint not to puke all over her blonde hair. I could see Edward's shoulders shaking with silent laughter at my repulsed expression.

"No, actually, I'm fine. Bella?" Edward said, then turning to me.

"No, I'm not hungry either." I told the waitress who moved away, unwillingly. I could tell from the lustful, desire filled glances she kept throwing at Edward.

"How is your mother?" I enquired of Edward.

The image of him sitting alone on the swing, looking so miserable and broken filled my mind. He no longer resembled that image that filled every inch of my mind, although, now that I look closely at him, I could see that not all traces of last night's misery had disappeared.

I examined him closely. He looked the same as he always did, but now that I looked and really looked at him, I could see the faint creases in his brow as though his brow was often wrinkled in anxiety, I could see very faint shadows beneath his eyes as though he didn't get enough satisfying sleep. And his eyes. They were the same beautiful green they always were when I lost myself in them. But now that I really dived deep into those crystal green pools, I could detect some stress in them.

Edward upon noticing my scrutiny raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"You're not happy with your life" I said, it was a statement, not a question and he knew it as well as I did.

"What makes you say that?" Edward questioned. His voice was scornful and confident, but beneath that confidence, I could detect a hint of nervousness.

"Edward, you're really good at hiding stuff, but only upon the first quick glance can you fool everyone, it's when someone, namely me, really analyses you carefully that they can conclude that you're not happy. Edward, I want you to be happy and I want to know what's stopping you from getting your happiness because you're my friend" I debated, editing the part where he is the love of my life and that I can't bear to see him as anything but happy.

"Bella, I can tell you're not going to drop this, so I know it's no use to tell you to please just let it go. Therefore, I promise you that I will tell you some day, but not today." Edward countered.

I opened my mouth to argue but Edward spoke before I could even utter a word.

"Bella, please, I promise I will tell you some day. Please just drop it for now, please, for my sake" Edward pleaded.

I closed my mouth. For Edward's sake. I could do anything for him; therefore I was unable to resist him anything at all. I would keep him bound to his promise but I would let it go for now, for his sake. And for his sake only.

EPOV

Bella lapsed into silence and locked her chocolate brown gaze with mine. The intense trust and friendship of that gaze made me internally promise that I would reconcile the life that was currently mine. My mother was too ill; I would force her to leave my father eventually. I was being cowardly, indulging her all the time. Although she was ill, there were words of hers that had carved themselves into my brain that had made me determined to leave this life:

'_sometimes even when you can't understand the actions of that person and you want to hate them, you just can't, you have to go on loving them, not for yourself, but for their sake, so that they'll know that you'll love them no matter what and that they'll change because of your love, that they'll change for you'_

These words applied to my feelings for my mom. I wanted to hate her for loving my dad when he wasn't fit for her affections. I wanted to hate her so that I could pack my bags and leave without a second thought but mom's words explained why I was unable to do this. But Bella's intensely trusting gaze had made me decide that I was going to change things. I would take myself away from the custody of my father, cut all the ties that bound me to him so that one day when I am free of him, I can fulfil my promise to Bella and tell her the reason of my unhappiness.

Somehow, someday, I was going to accomplish all of this and I would return to Bella with a new life. A new life that would be blessed with happiness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

BPOV

Edward was silent for so long that I felt uncomfortable, thinking that he might have forgotten all about me. He seemed deep in thought as he stared into my eyes steadily, although his thoughts seemed to be focused on something disconnected with me or anything in this café. I did not break the silence for if I did, that would throw my opportunity of staring at his face that wore a serene, thoughtful expression right out of the café's door. However, all good things must come to an end, I suppose, for Edward seemed to come out of his reflective trance and he smiled at me.

"Sorry about that Bella, I didn't mean to forget that I must be boring you by just sitting here. I just…" his voice trailed off as he stared into my eyes, melting all of my thoughts into an incoherent jumble of chaos.

"It's okay. I could see you were deep in thought about something and I wasn't getting bored. How could I be with you around?" I blurted out, my thoughts not quite collected as I was still being dazzled by his gorgeous green eyes and his equally gorgeous crooked smile whilst my voice came out as a hoarse croak. I blushed as my thoughts caught up with me, surely friends didn't say to each other how they can't ever get bored with each other, right?

"Well, I would appreciate it very much if you let me treat you to a fabulous day out with me to make up for letting you get bored right now" Edward suggested, smiling pleasantly at me which cheesy as it might sound just took my breath away.

"Look, Edward, I swear that you were not boring me, there is absolutely no need for you- "I began to protest, but was cut off by Edward placing a finger over my lips causing my heart to accelerate.

"Bella, you are being utterly absurd, I don't need to entertain you, I want to. Can't a guy just spend some time with his close friend whom he absolutely adores?" Edward argued, dredging up the most innocent expression known to mankind.

"Urgh, fine. I swear everyone in this world just insists on deciding my daily schedule without even bothering to think about what i might want to do" I complained.

Edward just grinned widely at me, displaying all of his perfect, ultra white teeth, which caused all of my insides to melt. It should be illegal for him to be that beautiful.

"So, do you want to leave this café? The rain hasn't stopped but it's not as bad as it was and we do have an umbrella so it wouldn't be too bad if we went outside seeing as I'm finding this café rather boring" Edward debated.

"Nuh-uh, you know I hate the cold or the wet. I am not going out there" I stated stubbornly, crossing my arms in a childish gesture.

"Come on, Bella, you might not be getting bored in here but I feel like I'm going to fall asleep, I need to be on my feet. Besides if you just gave the rain a try, you might actually find it fun" Edward disputed desperately.

"And what fun could I possibly find in the rain? I never knew that pneumonia could be classified as fun" I retorted sardonically.

"Oh, don't worry. I am more than capable of helping you get over your aversion to rain" Edward murmured alluringly whilst leaning in towards me unconsciously, although I found both, his close proximity along with his soft murmur unbearably seductive. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw our dumb blonde waitress sneak a look at us and scowl at our erm… close positions.

My grin slid off my face as I saw the waitress sashay over to us, a smile on her face that I can only guess was supposed to be erotic. She came over to our table and said in a low murmur, whilst leaning in towards Edward "Are you sure there's nothing I can get you?"

Okay, this chick is so lucky that I am not a violent person otherwise who knows what kind of serious injuries she could have sustained. However, I was pleased to see that Edward was somewhat recoiling from her abrupt closeness. He met my eyes from across the table with a slightly desperate look.

"Oh, no worries, we were just about to leave as we have plans" I told the waitress putting a slight stress on the word plans and emphasising the 'we' part excessively.

Edward nodded vigorously causing the waitress to draw back, her face crumpling with disappointment.

"Come on, honey" I told Edward whilst I stood up, tormenting the blonde shamelessly.

What? She was trying to make a move on the love of my life. I wasn't going to have that.

I followed Edward out of the café door hurriedly lest should the waitress attempt to sneak Edward her number.

Once we were outside, standing in the pouring rain; (why did I forget that detail?) Edward turned to me with an amused expression.

"Oh, so NOW we have plans, do we?" he enquired, raising an eyebrow cynically.

"Whatever, I'm just humouring you. Now get out your umbrella and walk us over to some shelter" I snapped at him.

A dark smile spread across his face as he said "I thought I already told you that I am more than capable of helping you get over your aversion to rain"

"Well, guess what? I am not going to accept your help with that, now get out your umbrella" I snarled at him.

Edward grinned evilly at me before getting out his umbrella. I sighed in relief that he had finally obeyed my command; that's right, I wasn't asking him, I was commanding him. His evil grin that made me immediately nervous widened as he held the umbrella over me for a minute before he tossed the umbrella into the downpour of rain so hard that it flew across the street and continued to follow the wind into regions I could not see.

I stared into the torrent of rain, trying to find the umbrella but it was already lost. I then turned to glare at Edward, whose bronze hair was plastered to his pale forehead and whose face was covered with drops of rain whilst his clothes became drenched and I am certain that my appearance was in the same state, although Edward, unlike me, looked gorgeous, even when soaking wet.

"What the hell did you do that for? Now we don't have an umbrella, we're going to catch the flu or something and Charlie will probably kill you when I'm on my bed tomorrow morning dying of influenza! I can't believe you, Ed-" I began to rant furiously at him but unfortunately I was cut off as Edward bent down and picked me up bridal style and ran off, carrying me into the pouring rain, laughing freely as though he were the happiest man in the universe.

I screamed as the rain hit my face when we reached the middle of the street. Edward threw back his head and laughed.

"Edward, put me down, what if someone comes out here and sees us?" I shrieked over the loud tumult of the pouring rain.

"Silly Bella, it's raining cats and dogs, no one would be out here because they would be inside somewhere warm, away from the rain" Edward chuckled, still carrying me in his muscular arms, which might I add were soaking wet!

"So what are_ we_ doing out here instead of inside, like normal people?" I screeched angrily.

"Because maybe you're not normal, no one normal could ever be as clumsy as you, Bella" he laughed, the rain drops in his hair falling onto my face.

I scowled; he was going to pay for that comment. I threw my arms around his neck and pushed against his chest with all the force I had in such a way that Edward lost his balance and fell, landing on his back in the wet mud. I jumped off of him and smeared some mud all over his shirt and finding that I was enjoying this I went on to smear the mud all over his face too.

I stoop upright and laughed, throwing my head back into the rain just as Edward had done earlier. He was right, the rain could be fun! However, my laughter dried up as I saw an angry Edward tower over me. I looked up to stare at his livid expression but then burst out laughing as I caught sight of his mud painted face.

"Oh, you found that funny, did you?" Edward asked rhetorically in a low menacing voice.

I nodded, still clutching my side as I laughed.

Then, quite suddenly, Edward tackled me into the wet mud. I gasped, all the breath knocked out of me. Edward lifted his head to grin evilly at me before he plunged his hand into the wet mud and brought it to my face, making sure that there was no part of my face void of any mud. He stopped eventually to admire his handiwork and then burst out into hysterical guffaws. He was still on top of me, might I add, preventing me from escaping but I enjoyed having him on top of me even with the rain drenching me to the bone.

I glared at him as he chortled. He was on top of me so I couldn't quite reach too far for any mud and he was already covered in it so I was searching for any new ways to punish him. I could feel the rain plaster my hair to my forehead and then an idea hit me. I shifted my position slightly so that I was leaning over his face and began to shake my head from side to side, in a very Emmet-like manoeuver, causing rivulets of water to fall on Edward's face.

He ceased laughing and with a yelp, sprung off of me. I began to get up again so that I could start running away from him as soon as he could but unfortunately, my typical clumsiness caused me to trip over and fall against Edward, resulting in the both of us ending up, sprawled out on top of each other on the wet, muddy, ground. Our eyes met as we landed in the mud and we both burst out into raucous peals of laughter.

"Wow, this is really fun" I choked out, sitting up.

"I told you so" Edward teased as he too sat up.

We looked at each other, our faces still covered in wet mud, and our hair drenched with the rain water and we both laughed freely and joyously, throwing our heads back into the torrent of rain that fell upon us.

I felt my phone vibrate in my jeans pocket and took it out just as Edward casually slung his arm around my shoulder. I felt a current of electricity jolt through me at his casual touch. I sneaked a glance at him and saw that he had his eyes closed as he leaned his head back into the rain. I smiled widely to myself as I revelled in his masculine arm around my shoulders.

"Hello" I said into my phone.

"Bella, are you out in the rain?!" I heard Alice exclaim into my ear.

Crap, I had forgotten all about Alice. I had been enjoying Edward's company too much to remember anything or anyone else.

"Erm, no Alice, what makes you think that?" I replied, feeling that this was the best way to avoid Alice's dangerous wrath.

"Bella, you are a terrible liar and I can hear the rain in the background. What are you doing?" Alice exclaimed reproachfully.

"Erm, I'll fill you in on the details later. I'm just going home now" I assured Alice.

"You had better, you have a lot of explaining to do" Alice stated before ending the call.

I sighed and turned to see Edward staring intently at me, unfortunately, he had removed his arm from my shoulders. Wordlessly he stood up and offered me his hand, I smiled as I took it and he helped me up. Still holding my hand, he pulled me along through the rain. At one point, he leaned down and whispered into my ear "I told you I could get you to ignore your aversion to the rain".

I suppressed a shudder as we walked through the falling torrent of the rain, holding hands.

**Review please, you know you want to...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

EPOV

I guided Bella through the pouring rain, keeping her small, delicate fingers twined in mine. She stumbled through the wet mud clumsily, delaying our return. I turned back to look at her slow progress and grinned when I saw her mud-covered face looking slightly frustrated as she tripped for the hundredth time. She saw my grin at her stumble and thus scowled at me. She looked so ludicrous with the rain falling on her already wet, mud streaked face through which her scowl glared at me that I couldn't prevent a laugh escape my lips.

"For that, I'll let Alice kill you for dragging me out in the middle of this storm when I blame you for the messy state I am in" Bella admonished me angrily which in turn made me laugh more.

Bella glared at me and I quickly stopped laughing lest should I anger her further.

"Stop laughing and just tell me where we're going?" Bella snapped at me.

"I'm taking you home, of course. You might want Alice to kill me, but I, on the other hand, do not wish the same for you" I told her with a grin which for some reason unknown to me caused Bella to blush.

"I still can't believe that you threw the umbrella away" I heard Bella grumble to herself with the obvious intention that I should not hear but I heard her nevertheless.

I turned back to grin at her to let her know that I had heard her and this caused her to blush once more.

We continued to plunder through the rain and Bella's whole form seemed to sag with relief when I observed that the rain wasn't as heavy as before and seemed to be coming to an end. By the time we reached Bella's house, the rain had ceased completely and Bella and I looked utterly ridiculous when the sun shined upon us, revealing the mud on our faces and clothes to the rest of the world.

An elderly lady started quite violently when she came out of her front door and saw Bella and I dripping wet with our faces smeared in mud and our clothes stained completely with mud from our previous playful fight in the rain. Bella looked mortified as she hid her blushing face into my shoulder as the lady continued to stare at us disapprovingly. I smiled politely at the lady and waved at her and in response, she just frowned and turned away from us to go walk back into her house.

I laughed as I notified Bella "She's not looking at us anymore, Bella, she's gone back into her house".

"I told you we shouldn't have gone into the rain, that woman is probably calling up all her friends right now, warning them of two dangerous, crazy teenagers in the neighbourhood who might just have escaped from the mental asylum" Bella fretted and I laughed at her unreasonable worry.

"I don't see how being dripping wet and being covered in mud makes us look dangerous and crazy" I contradicted laughingly.

"Okay, we might not look dangerous but she probably still thought that we're on the run, maybe from the law" Bella disputed.

"I disagree, you're a very beautiful, innocent looking woman so she probably thought that we were a couple who got mugged and just about managed to escape with our lives" I argued.

"Whatever. I'm just going to go inside my house so that I can shower and get changed before Charlie gets home and can demand any explanations and then I can crawl into my bed where I can hide my embarrassed face forever" Bella informed me upon which I laughed.

It felt like I had laughed today with Bella more than I had ever laughed in all my life.

"You wouldn't have to hide in your bed forever if you explained that you were mugged which is the reason for your late arrival and messy state. I'm sure Chief Swan would be much too outraged with that too bother with any details" I suggested whilst grinning at Bella.

Bella just rolled her eyes as she replied "And how would I explain how I managed to survive?"

"I arrived and saved your life, of course" I grinned at her.

"Oh right, I forgot, you must always play the dashing hero" Bella responded in an acerbic tone.

"Yup, I am the dazzling hero in Forks who not everyone even likes or cares for" I murmured bitterly, thinking of my parents.

"Don't be ridiculous, everyone loves you. How can they not?" Bella responded looking unreasonably shocked at my words.

I stared at Bella and she blushed unexplainably.

"Well, bye, I guess I'll see you around" Bella mumbled, talking to the floor. I smiled at her shyness.

"Bye Bella, I had a fantastic time today" I said to her as I gave her a warm hug which she responded to, wrapping her thin arms around me.

I pulled away as she smiled at me. Bella turned away and walked back to her house, I watched her for reasons I could not fathom. I suppose I just enjoyed her company today so much that I had no desire to leave it or perhaps I was just procrastinating my return home. All day today, whilst I had been with Bella, I hadn't thought of the current state of things at home once and I certainly did not want to go back home and live in the midst of all of it. Yes, I'm quite sure that it was the latter explantaion.

I saw Bella turn to look at me just at her front door. She seemed quite surprised to see me standing there still and I waved at her which caused her to smile widely. She went inside the house and I having nothing else to do went to prolong my walk.

BPOV

I smiled as I waved at Edward. I continued to smile to myself as I recalled the wonderful, blissful, and fabulous day I had spent with Edward. I was still lost in the memory of today when I felt a small, pixie-like form land on top of me, causing me to fall on the floor.

"Bella, you have a lot of explaining to do" Alice reproached me.

"Alice, what are you doing here?" I gasped.

"Eww, you got wet mud all over you, you got mud on my new jeans" Alice whined as she sprung off me nimbly.

"Well, I didn't ask you to attack me as soon as I got through the front door" I scolded Alice.

"Why have you got mud all over you?" Alice demanded.

"I'll explain, but is it too much to ask to be allowed to go shower and change?" I asked cynically.

"Fine, but be back within five minutes, I want to go see Jasper" she instructed.

"Alice, this is my house" I reminded her, feeling that the reminder was necessary as she was acting as though this was her own house where she was entitled to give orders to other people.

"I know that but you were away from here for hours and I was waiting for ages so I made myself at home" Alice said whilst shrugging indifferently.

"You were waiting here for hours, why?" I asked, thoroughly bewildered.

"I want details, Bella, I want to know what you and Edward have been up to all day and don't bother asking how I know you were with Edward" Alice told me.

I was feeling quite scared now, this was not a prospect that looked promising to me so I hastily made my escape to the shower. I tried to be quick, knowing that Alice, queen of impatience would be waiting for me.

I came back downstairs where Alice was waiting for me.

"Yay! You're finally here so now spill" Alice commanded me, knowing that it would be of no use to fight with Alice, I recounted all of the day's events.

"That's wonderful, Bella! This so proves that Edward totally loves you" Alice squealed.

I rolled my eyes at her naivety.

"Alice, come on, you can't get any less passionate than a fight in the rain" I stated.

"Bella, you can be so blind sometimes. Playing in the rain is absolutely romantic, not to mention the fact that you guys spent the entire morning and half the afternoon together" Alice argued.

"Yeah, that's because we're friends and I am telling you that the fight in the rain was completely friendly, no romance involved" I contradicted.

"Bella, you should see the two of you together from a third person view. The two of you are always just wrapped up in your own world away from the rest of us and watching you two is so cute because you both just look so like a couple" Alice enthused.

"Alice, we do not look like a couple" I yelled at her.

"Maybe not in your eyes. Bella, I can see it in Edward's eyes and his face and the way he acts around you that he is totally in love with you. It's just so obvious that I can't believe you haven't noticed it yet" Alice persisted.

"Alice, of all the pretty girls in the world, why would Edward ever take any notice of me?" I sighed dejectedly.

"Bella, you are so blind sometimes. You are one of the most beautiful girls ever and even if you weren't, do you honestly believe that Edward is so shallow that he would choose a girl over you based only on their looks?" Alice argued.

I felt bad upon Alice's words, I did not believe for an instant that Edward was in the slightest bit shallow.

"I'm not saying that, Alice. I just meant that what could Edward possibly see in me that could make him love me?"

"Bella, you are being completely stupid now. Edward most definitely loves you because you are one of the kindest, prettiest girls with the purest heart ever which makes you an amazing person. He could never find anyone like you even if he searched all over the world because you are the only perfect Bella he could ever love. I am not just saying this because you are my friend, Bella; I'm saying this because I can see all of this in Edward's eyes when he looks at you even if he doesn't know it himself." Alice explicated.

"Alice, he may think all of that about me but he does not love me and I don't understand why you can't accept the truth" I moaned wearily.

How many times had Alice and I had this tiresome argument?

"Bella, it is you who is not accepting the truth because of your own prejudices against yourself. I wish you wouldn't be so stubborn" Alice replied exasperatedly.

"Alice-"I began but was cut-off by Alice's next words.

"No, Bella, your stubbornness is not going to get in the way of what can be the best relationship you'll ever have. You and Edward will be together if it is the last thing I do" Alice decided resolutely with an all too familiar stubbornness taking over every feature of her elfin face and I knew then that it was no use arguing with her.

I groaned internally at what I knew would be a disaster.

**Anyone care to give me a review? You know that i need them. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I know that it is a very quick update but I just couldn't wait to write it. Now we know that Edward is pretty miserable at home but this is where the real drama starts. **

**Chapter 7**

EPOV

I walked all around Forks several times and continued to walk until my legs were aching and I was forced to sit down and rest. I sat for a long while too until I was so bored that words could not describe my boredom. Why was I walking and sitting around to the point of suffering? I simply did not want to go back home. I didn't want to go back home to the worthless life that was mine. Realizing that I had no choice but to concede defeat, I got up and slowly made my way back home, striving to take as long as possible.

I reached my house and paused routinely at the front door, however, what was not routine was hearing a loud thud and bang as though something were being thrown carelessly about within the house. I stood frozen at the door whilst my heart accelerated during that frozen pause, then acting so fast that I can only call it an adrenaline rush, I ripped open the front door with such force that it rebounded off the inside wall on the left and slammed shut behind me as I sprinted frantically inside. I did not need to run for long as I skidded to a halt when I reached the living room where my eyes met a sight that I had never ever wanted to see in all my life.

My father stood, towering over my mother who was cowering in a corner, small, whimpers of fear and pain escaped her as she hid her face from my father's demented and ferocious face. My father wore an extremely ugly, deluded, savage expression on his face, his dark brown, depthless eyes glinted an intimidating, fierce, animal like gleam. I could tell from the way that he was swaying on his feet as he stood that he was as drunk as could be, a couple more pints and he'd be unconscious. However, that only made him more dangerous, for it was a common feature of him that the more drunk he was, the more violent he got.

He regarded my whimpering mother like a predator would just before making the final killing blow before he abruptly roared "What do you mean I can't gamble the money?"

My mother only let out a feeble whimper in response and this enraged me at the highest level known to humanity which was significant because I was usually a relatively calm person, maybe not at Jasper's level, but as close as you could get without bragging.

"Step away from her right now" I growled quietly but loud enough for him to hear.

He whirled around in an animal-like manoeuvre, what was I talking about? He was an animal; therefore all his movements would be that of an animal and by that, I do not mean the cute, fluffy kind but the dangerous, savage type.

"There you are, mate" he yelled drunkenly at me.

I growled from the back of my throat. I was not his mate. I considered him worse than any enemy i could possibly ever have.

"Now, let's not have any funny business. Hand over some money; I got a good chance of winning a fortune tonight" he commanded me, staggering around on his feet.

"The only thing you have a chance of winning is another debt which would only mean more loss for us, you mongrel" I snarled at him.

"Now, now, I swear to you that I'm not going to cause any trouble" he attempted to reason, his words coming out slurred together making it difficult to understand.

"Swear all you want, we both know that trouble is all you're ever good for" I snapped at him.

"Just give me some money!" he bellowed.

"Go drown yourself in your beer" I snarled at him menacingly.

He let out a savage roar before lunging for my mother who he planned on releasing his anger on. However, I sprinted towards him and grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him with all the force I had into the far wall. He collided with the wall with a loud thud but like a predator he staggered back up lunging again ready to strike back, I darted out of the way, my senses sharp, unlike his intoxicated ones. Therefore, I was faster than him and once again he collided with the wall.

It was at this point that a plan formed in my head, if I could trick him into smashing into the wall enough times for him to fall unconscious, I could then take my mother and get her out of the house. I would take her to Esme's, she was a helpful, loving lady who would be willing to take my mother in without any explanations if I requested her with enough sincerity. The plan for now seemed perfect until my father in his drunken state picked up one of the many empty alcohol bottles that lay in an untidy heap on the small coffee table and hurled it in my direction.

I suppose it was my father's rubbish aim that saved my life for if I hadn't ducked just then, I would've been as good as dead. The glass bottle sailed over my head and fell onto the floor, breaking into many different proportioned fragments of glass. I looked up to see my father charging towards me with a glass bottle that would definitely strike a blow that would kill me. I did the only thing I could think of, I grabbed the bottled end of a sharp glass piece and held it up in front of me like a weapon.

My father saw it too late and his slow intoxicated reflexes caused him to run straight into the jagged piece of glass. Blood spurted out from his chest and seeped through his clothes, I let go of the glass weapon and it stayed stuck in his chest, protruding out of his shirt, pointing at me as if it were condemning me to this crime. My eyes met his aghast ones and his eyes widened and I knew we were both thinking the same thing: _"He's going to die, there's no hope for him and he's going to die". _He let out one shuddering gasp and dropped to the floor, still, white, motionless, and dead.

I stared at my dead father, my whole body trembling in shock and revulsion at what I had just done. My legs collapsed from under me and I dropped to the floor, still staring at my father. My mother's harsh cry brought me out of my shocked reverie.

"NO! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" she screeched at me, crawling to where my father lay on the floor, dead.

She began to sob and each sob tore at my heart.

"Mom" I whispered hoarsely, fear possessing every fibre of my body.

I wanted to be held in someone's arms so badly, I wanted to be comforted by my mother, who was right now crying by my father's corpse.

"Mom" I whispered again, wishing she would come and hold me the way she was with my father's dead body.

"GO AWAY, YOU EVIL, EVIL MAN! YOU KILLED HIM! I LOVED HIM AND YOU KILLED HIM, YOU MUDERER!" My beloved mother shrieked at me, swatting me away as though I was some unwanted fly and that was when I felt my heart tear and break in two.

She turned back to the dead body in her arms and began pleading with it to awake.

I trembled with the hurt of my sick mother's rejection, the revulsion of the crime I had committed, the shock of what had just transpired, and fear of what was to happen now. I sat trembling for a few moments as I watched my mother cry heart wrenched sobs. Then, when I could take it no longer, I grabbed my jacket and ran out the house, not caring where I went, as I ran, I permitted the tears to escape my eyes. Images of my mother cowering in fear, my father's dead corpse and my mother's hate filled face as she shrieked at me the disturbing label of a murderer occupying every inch of space of my mind.

I ran in the streets of Forks, my tears blurring my vision. Soon, my knees collapsed beneath me and I sank to the concrete of the street. I let my grief consume me and the tears overflowed like a river. I cried and cried; losing track of the hours, just immersing myself in the memories of the past evening, I heard a lone wolf from the woods let out a cry to the silver, luminescent moon and that was when I felt the presence of a person near me.

BPOV

I suddenly felt like a walk. I suppose it was hanging out with Edward so much lately that made me enjoy walks but whatever the reason, I suddenly had a desperate yearning to walk outside in the silver glow of the beautiful moon that shone down on the small town of Forks. I walked out the door, yelling to Charlie where I was going. I walked out and continued down the street

I came to a halt when I saw a figure crouched down on the street shaking with what I knew were sobs. Then the moonlight shone on their bronze, dishevelled hair and that's when I ran without thinking towards the crying person.

"Edward, oh my god! Edward! What's wrong?" I cried frantically, panic-stricken.

Edward didn't seem to notice me at first; he seemed too consumed in his grief but then he started and tried to stand up but he seemed too weak to try that and so just ended up slumping towards me.

"Bella?" he croaked hoarsely.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I asked again, feeling terrified upon seeing Edward in this state.

"Bella…I've done a…terrible thing" Edward choked out in between sobs in a morose voice that was filled with regret.

"I'm an evil person, Bella" Edward sobbed.

"No, you're not, Edward, you might have done something terrible but that doesn't make you a terrible person because anyone can see you regret whatever it is you done" I told Edward ferociously putting my arms around him, trying to comfort him in any way.

Edward laid his head on my chest above my heart and I kept my arms around him, rubbing soothing circles into his back. His sobs had quietened to silence but I kept my arms around him as he made no manoeuvre to end this consoling embrace. I knew that Edward had obviously committed some terrible deed but I still loved him because he looked so grief stricken by whatever he did and he was the same Edward whom I had and always will love and even if he didn't feel the same way as me, I would always stand by his side.

EPOV

I was no longer sobbing. Bella was a real comfort. But I still didn't know what I was to do.


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, it might take me longer to update now as I am finding it quite difficult to make this story flow; therefore, some chapters might be longer than usual or shorter than usual. Also, you can expect updates to be less frequent and more sporadic. Either way, review! Oh yeah, I don't own any of these characters, Stephenie Meyer does. (I know I haven't done this in a while, I keep forgetting).**

**Chapter 8**

BPOV

Edward's head was now resting on my lap. He had ceased weeping long ago and had fallen asleep. I was actually relieved about this as grief and remorse was evident in every line of his face whilst he was awake. We were still outside; I had convinced Edward to come sit with me on a park bench. He had insisted feebly that I should go home but I could tell that he wanted me to stay with him just as much as I wanted to stay with him. There was no way I could leave him in the state he was in and he knew that too, therefore our argument was over quickly with me the victor.

Charlie had phoned of course as I had lost all track of time and had caused him panic, I'd persuaded him to permit me to sleep at Alice's house which he had agreed to. I had obtained Alice's consent and had promised to explain everything in the morning. I had then stayed with Edward, just sitting with him so that he never felt lonely but now he had fallen asleep which I was perfectly happy with. It was a tremendous relief and joy to see his face now peaceful in his sleep and because he was asleep, I was at liberty to stare at his god-like appearance for as long as I wanted.

I knew that I would have to leave him eventually, I, actually we, couldn't sleep out here on the park bench all night. However, a beam of silver moonlight fell upon Edward, illuminating every angelic feature of his stunning face. He was a beautiful sight to gaze upon and I couldn't imagine even a Greek god ever being as beautiful as him. I smiled contentedly as I stroked his soft, bronze hair; relishing in the tingle the soft texture of his dishevelled locks gave my fingertips. I felt Edward twitch and I stopped stroking his hair to gaze avidly at his face, whereas a minute ago, his face was peaceful, it was now agitated, then his whole body began to twitch, shake and tremble, and he began uttering noises of fear and apprehension.

It appeared that Edward was having a nightmare; I stared at him intently for a few minutes, watching his discomfort over a nightmare that I was unable to see. I could take it no longer, I was now suffering internal agony watching Edward's agitation. I began to stroke his hair and his face gently, soothingly, murmuring reassuring whispers into his ear. He gradually calmed down and lapsed into peaceful slumber once again.

I leaned down and kissed him softly on his cheek. His eyes flew open and I felt myself drowning in those green pools of his.

EPOV

_I was running frantically to… what? I had no idea to where and why I was running? Then I heard an ear-piercing scream of agony. It was my mother, she was screaming, she was in pain, I had to go save her. I took off in the direction of where I thought the scream had come from. I found myself running across the marble, black, floor of what looked like a desolate and depressing tunnel. I could hear the constant drip-drip of water falling from the ceiling of this bleak tunnel. Another scream echoed towards me and my running quickened. I was a fast runner and I was running as fast as I could, no one ever had a hope of catching up with me but hearing that scream forced me to sprint so fast that for the first time in my life, I was panting from a stitch in my side._

_I ignored the pain the stitch was causing me and continued to sprint down the desolate tunnel. Another blood-curdling scream in my mother's voice caused my stomach to clench in dozens of uncomfortably tight knots whilst my heart rate speeded up to the point where I could feel it banging against my chest painfully. I was in excruciating agony from the knots in my stomach, the accelerated speed of my heart, and the stitch in my side. The tunnel seemed endless as I ran down it, panting from the pain I was in. Then all of a sudden, I skidded to a halt as I found myself standing in a large, circular room. My mother was standing in the centre, perfectly motionless, staring at me with bloodshot eyes, her mouth frothing with spit; I had never seen her look so…grotesque and I recoiled from her causing her to scream piercingly once more._

_She then, so abruptly, that I only had time to widen my eyes in shock as she suddenly lunged for me, tackling me to the floor, then I saw the terrifying glint of a sharp knife pointed towards my heart, she stared at me ferociously as she screamed at me "MURDERER!" and then it was no longer my mother holding the knife, ready to plunge it into my heart. It was my father, his face deathly white and covered in blood as was the rest of his clothes, and I saw the sharp glass piece I had plunged into his chest protruding out of his chest. He laughed evilly in the same drunk laugh I had always hated whilst he was alive as he plunged the knife down towards me…'_

My eyes flew open whilst a gasp escaped me but no sooner had I comprehended that I had been dreaming a horrible nightmare, I found myself lost in the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes that were wide with shock and embarrassment. With a jolt, I realized that I was drowning in Bella's chocolate brown eyes. I sat up quickly, my head flying off of Bella's lap. Strange, I had always known that Bella was beautiful, but why had I never truly appreciated the beauty of her brown eyes?

"Edward, did you… is… are- are you alright?" Bella stuttered; her cheeks coloured a flaming red, why was she blushing?

"I'm fine; I just had a very terrifying nightmare" I replied, images of various spine-chilling moments of the nightmare running through my mind whilst I shuddered involuntarily.

"Edward, we can't sleep out here on this park bench, I need to get to Alice's and you need to go home" Bella reminded me reasonably, being the responsible person she always was.

But it wasn't possible for me to go home, my mom wouldn't want me there, she hates me as I deserve. Would she still be there, mourning over my father's murder, still clutching his dead body?

"Edward, would you mind staying at Alice and Emmet's? I already asked Alice if you could stay and she said yes" Bella informed me quietly.

I said nothing in response. I was struggling with any concept of what I was to do. I couldn't stay at Emmet and Alice's for longer than tonight, what if the police came knocking at their door? There was no way I could let them get involved with this but then how would I get out of this mess.

I mentally struck myself for my cowardice and selfishness. I shouldn't be allowed to get out of this. I was a murderer. I should be punished. I will be punished.

"Edward" Bella said softly, reminding me of her presence.

"Bella, I'm a criminal, you should hate me, what are you still doing here with me?" I questioned her.

"Because, Edward, you're my friend and as I already said before, whatever crime you committed, it's very obvious that you regret it. I am not about to abandon you, Edward, not in a million years" Bella stated adamantly.

"Bella, I have to be punished for my crime, you should go to Alice and leave me, I have nowhere to go, except for hell, which is what I deserve" I responded solemnly.

"Edward, just shut up and come with me to the Cullen's" Bella sighed wearily.

"But Bella-"I began but Bella cut me off.

"No, Edward, we can discuss this in the morning, you are coming with me to the Cullen's, I am not going anywhere without you. I promise you, we will talk about this in the morning" Bella commanded me stubbornly.

"You are so stubborn" I grumbled but I sighed in defeat as I stared up at the luminescent moon.

"It's a beautiful night" I thought aloud sorrowfully, the night was stunning and tonight of all nights had to be the ruination of my life.

"Yes, it is" Bella agreed from beside me but when I turned to look at her, her gaze was fixed on me rather than anything else.

I stared back at her, drowning in those chocolate brown eyes of hers, her arm was pressed up against me causing my skin to tingle, since when did she have this effect on me?

Bella shivered and I stared at her to see that she was wearing no jacket, only a blue blouse which was a very good colour on her.

"Don't you have a jacket?" I asked disapprovingly, raising my eyebrows.

"I guess I forgot it" Bella answered, biting her lip.

I sighed as I took off my jacket and handed it over to her, she shook her head from side to side vigorously and I sighed again at her typical and expected behaviour.

"Really, Edward, I'll be fine" Bella insisted.

I continued to hold out my jacket to her and she signed resignedly as she took the jacket from me and donned it. I suddenly felt a most unexplainable and peculiar joy at seeing her wear one of my garments, somehow, seeing her fragile shoulders and arms in my jacket which was obviously too big for her pleased me immensely. Why was that?

"Happy now?" Bella mumbled. I just nodded. I then stood upright and held my hand out for her wordlessly. She stared at me intently for a couple more moments before grasping my hand firmly with her small, soft, delicate fingers. I smiled at her touch; somehow, it felt right to have our fingers intertwined, as though we were meant to be so intimately close. I pulled her upright and led the way to the Cullen's house.

BPOV

I relished in the feel of Edward's soft, gentle touch in my hand. It was consoling and made me blissfully happy. Whatever Edward was suffering right now, I would help him get through it, no matter what.

"Bella" Edward said into the darkness of the late night.

"Edward?" I replied.

"Will you promise me something?" Edward asked.

"Of course" I would give him my life if he asked for it, not that he would. Edward was much too considerate and kind for that. However, I now regretted agreeing so fast, what if he asked me to stay away from him because of whatever crime he committed? That would be a very typical thing of Edward to do.

"Promise me that you'll do whatever it takes to keep yourself happy and safe" Edward requested with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Erm…" I responded, biting my lip, I was only happy as long as Edward was and as for being safe, I had monstrously bad luck, combined with dangerous clumsiness, not a very good mix if you see what I mean.

"Promise me, Bella" Edward pleaded.

"Of course, Edward, if it means so much to you" I appeased.

"It does" Edward confirmed softly.

I truly and really hoped that this promise will not prove to be difficult to keep.

**Okay, I know that nothing much happened in this chapter, but I have to let the police find evidence before they arrest Edward as a suspect and something needs to happen in the meantime. Review, but I am going to ask you all another favour, can you please read '**You Belong with me' **by my friend **YASMiiN-TWiiLiiGHT-FAN. **I promise you won't regret it, she's much more talented than me. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi, I'm back with Chapter 9, these fabulous characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, not me.**** I only own the plot which might I add is proving extremely difficult to write. But I like challenges and I have a very good feeling about this story. Anyway, I'll stop babbling so that you can read and then give me very kind reviews, I hope. **

**Chapter 9**

EPOV

'_Blood spurted out from his chest and seeped through his clothes, I let go of the glass weapon and it stayed stuck in his chest, protruding out of his shirt, pointing at me asif it were condemning me to this crime. I met his aghast eyes and they widened and I knew we were both thinking the same thing: _"He's going to die, there's no hope for him, and he's going to die"._He let out one shuddering gasp and dropped to the floor, still, white, motionless, and dead.' _

I jolted up into a sitting position in my sleeping bag that was on the floor of Emmet's bedroom as a pillow hit my face. Hard. I looked up to see Emmet grinning down at me, the sunlight from outside shone through the window, creating a halo of light around Emmet's large, robust form. I scowled at both Emmet and the sunlight, no, I wasn't scowling because I had been awakened. I was glad to escape my nightmare which was merely a memory dredged up by my guilty conscience. I was scowling because I felt as though Emmet's wide grin and the bright sunshine were taunting me.

I felt envious that I was shut out of this rare, sunny, jovial mist that had settled over Forks, whilst most inhabitants of Forks would be at liberty to enjoy the precious sunlight that had visited Forks, I would be unable to do anything but wallow in my grief and guilt.

"Come on, sleepyhead, let's go get some breakfast, I'm starving" Emmet whined in an infuriatingly childish moan.

"Emmet, we've only just woken up and you're already hungry?" I exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Actually, you've only just woken up. I just came out from the shower and then I saw you tossing and turning in your sleep so I thought I should put you out of your misery even if you were asleep to realize your misery" Emmet explained in what I assumed was supposed to be a voice of logic and reason but as it was Emmet, it only came out sounding like the useless babble of an idiot.

"Emmet, just stop being a moron and leave me alone, if you're hungry, go get some breakfast" I scolded moodily.

"Jeez, Edward, I knew you were a grouch in the mornings, but are you having a hangover or something?" Emmet complained, further annoying me which was why I threw the pillow he had thrown at me as hard as I could at his face.

"Okay, Mr. Moody, I'm going, I'll let mom know that you're being too much of a grouch to come down to breakfast right now" Emmet muttered as he mercifully left the room.

I exhaled in relief. Emmet could be such a pain sometimes; I honestly failed to comprehend how his family managed to live with him with all of their sanity still intact.

I stood up and sauntered over to the window to stare out at the sunlit streets of Forks. However, I couldn't admire the beauty of the scene below me as images of last night's events filled every millimetre of my mind. Will the police have begun an investigation by now? Will they find any evidence linking back to me? What has happened to my dear mother? What WILL happen to her? What will happen to _me_? I should and will hand myself over to the police as soon as possible. But how and when do I do that?

"Edward? I brought some breakfast up for you" I heard a quiet voice say from the bedroom door.

I swivelled around to see Esme Cullen standing at the door with a tray laden with toast, eggs, and some juice. I felt my heart inflate at Esme's loving kindness.

"You didn't have to do that, Esme" I told her apologetically, my shoulders slumping with the guilt of the knowledge that this kind woman was bestowing her love on a murderer like me.

"I don't deserve your kindness, Esme" I mumbled shamefacedly as I reflected the fact that I deserved to be thrown into the most rotten, rat-infested sewers.

"Edward, what's wrong?" Esme enquired, her gentle face crumpling with concern and worry.

She looked so much like an affectionate mother, which is exactly what she was, how I wished my mother would worry for me like Esme. I wanted to confide in Esme but I didn't, I did not want her or anyone, especially those that I loved to get involved in any of my troubles.

"Nothing's wrong, Esme, I truly don't understand what is worrying you" I lied.

"Edward, I can see something is wrong but if you don't want to tell me then that is fine. Just understand and remember that I care for you a lot, I care for you like you were my own son and I love you just as much as I love Alice and Emmet" Esme stated sincerely.

How kind and loving could one possibly get? Not as much as Esme, that much was certain.

I felt a lump rise in my throat making it rather difficult to breathe easily. I suddenly felt not the desire but the need to talk to someone with as much maternal affection in them as Esme.

"I just can't see what's right, Esme, everything looks and feels wrong to me. My life has just spiralled so far out of my control that I have no idea what to do. I want to do what's right but I don't think I know how to do that anymore" I confessed, hanging my head in despair.

"Edward, of course you know what's right. You're just upset and losing hope and afraid of what might happen. But you have to remember that life is filled with despair, danger and risks, there is so much that we don't know and never will know. I know that sometimes it gets really hard but you just have to always do the right thing no matter what happens and you'll manage to pull through life, Edward. You've always been so intelligent and mature and I have every faith that you'll do what's right and I want you to remember that I will be there for you" Esme explicated sincerely, love blazing in her soft brown eyes and kindness lining every feature of her lovely face.

"But what if I've already done something wrong? Something unforgivable? Should I make sure that I am punished, even if I'll never be able to atone for my crime?" I questioned.

"Edward, there is absolutely no crime on Earth that you can't hope to atone for. If you truly regret and wish to atone for it, then with hard work and dedication, you will make up for it, eventually." Esme answered with such certainty in her voice that it was impossible not to believe her.

"So you think that the right thing to do would be to suffer the punishment for a crime?" I enquired.

"Yes, I would say that, but Edward, only you can decide for yourself what would be the right thing to do. Only your conscience can tell you the right thing to do" Esme said, smiling at me in a motherly way.

"Thanks, Esme, you really have helped me" I told her fervently as a lot of things fell into place in my head.

Esme smiled at me, before placing the breakfast tray on Emmet's desk, she smiled comfortingly at me before she left the room, leaving me once more to my thoughts.

"Hey, Edward, man, have you heard?" Emmet asked loudly as he entered the room, interrupting my thoughts.

"Heard what?" I queried impatiently.

"Apparently, there's been a murder right in Forks" Emmet explained. I froze.

"The police are supposedly investigating the scene of the crime right now" Emmet went on to say, oblivious to my petrified reaction.

"I got to go now" I finally whispered in a dazed stupor.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Emmet question, looking bewildered as he shook his head slowly from side to side.

But I had no time to explain, I needed to go now. I jumped off of Emmet's bed where I had been sitting. I ran into the bathroom, I hadn't had a chance to change my clothes since yesterday so I only needed to brush my teeth and wash my face before hurtling out of the bathroom and past a confused Emmet and out onto the upstairs landing. I ran hurriedly until I crashed into someone on the landing.

The person fell backwards onto the floor whilst I fell on top of them. I looked down into a pair of startling chocolate brown eyes. Bella looked up at me; an amused expression intermingled with surprise on her face. I would have got off of her by now but for some inexplicable reason, I found myself thinking of how beautiful she looked at that moment, her brown eyes huge with surprise, whilst her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back.

"Wow, for once I wasn't the one who caused us to fall" Bella teased and I snapped out of my inappropriate thoughts about her.

What sort of friend thought about how beautiful their friend was?

I got off of Bella and held my hand out for her to grab so that I could pull her up. She grasped my hand and for some reason that was beyond me, I felt a thrill go through me upon her touch. She stood up and smiled at me and I smiled back quite easily, I always felt strangely at ease with Bella around.

"So where were you off to in such a hurry that you had to assault me?" Bella asked me lightly.

This question caused my smile to slide off my face as I remembered what I was in a hurry to do. But how could I tell Bella that I was about to hand myself over to the police for murder?

"I'd rather not say" I replied quietly.

Bella looked me right in the eye; I tried to meet her gaze but had some difficulty doing just that.

"I'm coming with you" she decided in a voice that shunned any arguments.

"Bella" I sighed but she quelled me with a furious glare and I trembled with unease at what might her reaction be when I asked the police to arrest me. She gestured for me to lead the way and I sighed once more as I walked down the stairs hurriedly, going fast as I wished to get this over with as soon as possible.

Bella and I ran down the streets towards my house. Emmet said that the police were supposedly inspecting the crime scene and that couldn't be any other place but my house as that was where the fateful event had happened. Bella said nothing as she ran after me, but she stopped just like me when we arrived at my house to see dozens of police cars parked all over the street of my house. Bella stared at me, her mouth agape with astonishment and her eyes wide with shock. I looked fixedly straight ahead as I walked towards the front door and into the living room of my house whilst Bella followed silently and timidly behind.

I almost collapsed as I walked into the living room. It was almost exactly the same as it was when I had run out after being shouted vehemently at by my mother. There were still vodka bottles all over the floor and coffee table. There were fragments of glass littering the floor everywhere. It was like walking through some gate into the past, the only thing missing was my mother crying over my father's dead body. I was trembling terribly now, I was sure I was going to faint in a minute. Bella saw me shaking and put an arm around my shoulders to help steady me and give me support.

I managed to compose myself as I walked up to Chief Swan who was currently discussing something with another police officer. I made my face slip into that emotionless mask before I gently ducked out from under Bella's arm. I didn't turn to see Bella's expression as she followed me because I knew that the surprise and curiosity I would see in her expression would cause me to fall over the edge of my carefully composed demeanour. I sauntered up to Chief Swan and tapped him on the shoulder.

He swivelled around and looked pleased to see us at first. The pleasure I saw in his gaze as he looked at me caused hurt to slice across my heart, soon he would hate me for the murderer I was. He smiled at me and Bella for a minute before his expression transformed into one of confusion and concern.

"Bella, Edward, what are you doing here?" Chief Swan exclaimed.

"Dad, what happened here?" Bella asked quietly, whilst her voice wobbled slightly.

I took a deep breath, '_might as well get it over with' _I though miserably before blurting out just as Chief Swan opened his mouth to explain to his daughter that a murder is what happened here.

"Chief Swan, if there's anyone you should arrest for this murder, then it should be me" I blurted out as fast as I could before I could change my mind.

"Edward, are you saying that…" chief Swan began to say to me with wide eyes.

"Yes, chief Swan, just arrest me now and I promise to confess to everything at the station" I vowed in a pleading voice.

"Edward, are you…" Chief Swan began but once again, I cut him off as I said:

"Please, sir, just arrest me, I'd rather not confess here, can't we discuss this at the station?" I pleaded.

"Edward" I heard Bella say in a shocked whisper.

I turned to look at her with agonised eyes only to see her eyes brim with tears.

"Oh Edward!" she whispered again, pain evident in her face.

I turned back to chief Swan as I begged with my eyes closed: "Please, sir, just arrest me" I whispered.

I felt the ice cold touch of the metal hand-cuffs as it encased my wrist in an iron grip and I opened my eyes to stare beseechingly at Bella. I knew that she could see the regret, remorse and apology in my eyes but I still felt the need to say one last thing to her before the police would take me away to my well-deserved punishment.

"I'm so sorry, Bella, I know you must hate me, but you can't possibly hate me more than I hate myself" I whispered as I felt tears slide down my cheeks as I stared at Bella's already tear-streaked face.

The last thing I heard before I was dragged away to my punishment was an agonised whisper of extreme, excruciating pain: "Edward" I heard Bella whimper in a weeping whisper.

BPOV

I can't believe it. Not that Edward was a murderer but that he could actually believe that I could ever hate him. I didn't believe for one second that it was in Edward's nature to murder. He might have committed a murder, but I knew that there was more to this than he was willing to give away. I loved him with every fibre in my body and there was no way I could just un-love him in a minute by a single mistake on his part. I would stand by him through anything.

No, what caused tears to trickle down my cheeks was seeing Edward in pain as he confessed to what was obviously the most wretched thing he believed he had ever done. I had never seen him so vulnerable and my heart ached for him. I cried as I saw the police drag the love of my life away from me, possibly forever. What was I going to do?

**Well, Edward has finally been arrested; I hope you all liked it. I hope it was satisfying to you. I really did put 250% into this and trust me it was hard to write. Review please and let me know if you think I did a good enough job, I found it so difficult to write and I'm so worried that I might have messed up somehow. Review! I really need your opinions this time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks so much to all of you who have reviewed, special thanks to Girl who reads who has given me excessive help with points that are relevant to my story. I'm sorry if some of you had to wait for this chapter but I was having some difficulty with it. So I hope you all find it good because I tried really hard with it. I do not own any of these characters no matter how much I wish I did. : ( **

**Anyway, sorry about the long rambling note, you can all read now. And review. Hopefully. **

**Chapter 10**

BPOV

I sat by the window in Alice's bedroom, staring out at the picturesque sunlit streets of Forks, salty tears trickling down my cheeks. This must be some sick joke fate is playing, the precious sun rays that rarely smiled upon Forks was showing no signs of disappearing and for all of the happiness this warranted, it felt as though the sunshine was taunting my misery, rejoicing in my pain. How could I possibly see the sunshine and smile like I usually did when Edward was being interrogated in a bleak police station?

I continued to stare out the window at the sunlit streets, not really seeing them at all as Edward's distraught face hovered agonisingly in front of my mind's eye. The tears flowed relentlessly down my cheeks and I made no attempt to stop their path, not even lifting my hand to wipe away the tears. Why should I? Edward was being interrogated for murder! If he was found guilty, he could be sentenced to the death penalty, or if he was very lucky, sentenced to life imprisonment. How would I ever live if those were the outcomes?

"Bella, there you are. Rosalie and I went shopping, we were-"Alice gushed as she bounced into her room but then she stopped when she saw my tears. She gasped and ran over to me, her shopping bags falling to the floor as she forgot all about them in her worry for me.

"Oh, sweetie, what's wrong? Why are you crying? What happened?" Alice babbled frantically as she threw her arms around me, bringing me closer to her chest where I sobbed my heart out.

I was too grief-stricken to explain everything at that moment and Alice seemed to sense that as she kept her small arms around me as I just wept into her blouse, when I finally registered this fact, however, I tried to pull away, knowing that Alice wouldn't appreciate me ruining her blouse, but she just held me closer, preventing me from drawing away and so I gave up and just continued to cry into her arms, needing her support.

"Bella, I'm losing my mind here" Alice cried frantically.

"Oh, Alice, it's Edward, he-he…" I couldn't say anymore as the mere mention of Edward's name brought me such anguish that I broke into hysterical sobs.

"Bella, what about Edward? What happened?" Alice asked, panic-stricken.

Alice rocked me back and forth soothingly and eventually, I did calm down enough to tell her all of the morning's events. By the time I had finished, her face was pale with worry and shock, she was speechless and her eyes were wet with tears.

"Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry to hear that, I can't believe it. I feel terrible for you, poor Edward, do you think he really- "Alice blurted out but I cut her off fiercely as I stated:

"No, I don't think Edward is guilty of anything"

"Do you think he might be covering for someone?" Alice queried.

"No, I don't believe that. Edward is too noble for that, if he knew who the murderer was; he'd make sure that that person got punished"

"But then why would he confess?" Alice questioned doubtfully.

"I have no idea. But there is one thing I do know, there is something very strange about all of this and I am going to get to the bottom of this." I decided.

I thought back to that night when I found Edward sobbing wretchedly. He seemed so dejected and hopeless. I remember him admitting that he had done something terrible but murder had never crossed my mind at all when he said that, did I still find it as hard to attribute murder to Edward? I thought of his defeated, agonised, vulnerable demeanour this morning when he was confessing to murder to Charlie. I remembered the remorse and sadness in his face and eyes, if he was guilty, that regret I had seen in him could be explained, but even in that scenario, I knew he could not have murdered in cold blood.

Did I doubt Edward? But he would not have confessed to murder if he did not believe he was guilty, but even then, I still loved him and I could still sense something very odd and unnatural about the situation. One way or another, I was going to get to the truth of things. It was at this moment that Emmet, Rosalie, and Jasper entered the room with anxious expressions on their faces.

"Is it true that Edward has been arrested for murder?" Emmet demanded of me and Alice.

"It's true" I answered in a trembling whisper.

"No way" Jasper whispered, turning white. I felt a fresh torrent of tears cascade down my face and Rosalie walked towards me to wrap her arms around me, Alice was still sitting by my side and she also wrapped her arms around me, just as Rosalie was doing.

"Bella, the rumour is that you were there when Edward was arrested for his father's murder" Jasper said quietly.

My head snapped up upon this new bit of information. I hadn't known whose murder Edward was being arrested for, but I guess I should've known, I mean the police were investigating his house. How many shocks were there left for me to suffer today? The morning was only just over. The Edward I knew who I had always believed to be unable to hurt anyone was now not just under custody for a person's murder but for his father's murder!

"I was there when he confessed but I never knew that it was his father's murder" I finally managed to choke out.

"Do you think he could've done it?" Rosalie enquired with a wary glance at me.

"I don't know, all I know is I have got to get him a bail" I stated.

"Whoa, how are we going to do that?" Emmet questioned sceptically.

"Emmet has a point, Bella, we are minors, and we won't be able to get him a bail" Jasper remarked.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, for now though, I have to go see Edward" I told everyone.

"We'll come with you" Alice told me firmly. Jasper, Rosalie and Emmet nodded their agreement and I smiled at all of them, grateful for their support.

We walked out of Alice's bedroom and filed into Emmet's jeep which was really the only place we could all fit and drove down to the police station, Emmet driving, of course. We arrived and filed out of the car, into the station. I saw Charlie and ran over to him.

"Dad" I said, causing his head to whip around to my face and I could see his eyes widen in worry, it was then that I remembered that I had been crying a lot for a long while and had neglected to remove all evidence of that fact. My eyes must be red and swollen, the salt tears probably all dried up in disgusting trails on my cheeks, my nose red as though I had a serious cold.

"I suppose you want to see Edward" Charlie said to all of us.

Alice nodded before turning to me and enquiring "Bella, do you want to see Edward alone? Or do you want us to come with you?"

"I'll go see him alone. I don't think he'll react too well if he meets us all at once, he'll be upset as it is to see me so I should probably go and calm him down before letting him see you" I explained, knowing that this was the most sensible thing to do even though I was terrified that I might not prevent myself from breaking down into more hysterical sobs when I see Edward in a jail cell.

Charlie nodded before gesturing for me to follow him. I gulped as I composed for myself a determined, supportive and calm mask for Edward to see. I didn't want him to see me as a wounded wreck, which I was. But I knew that if he saw how wretched I was, he'd just blame himself as his nature was liable to do. I couldn't dismiss the painful image of his dejected, self-loathing, remorseful face as he expressed his regret at his false, absurd belief that I hated him and I had to do whatever I could to convince Edward that I did not at all hate him, once I had done that, I would exert all my efforts into acquiring him his bail.

Charlie finally stopped at a cell but stood, facing me, in front of me so that I couldn't catch even a glimpse of Edward. Charlie shifted uncomfortably and his facial expression was one hesitant doubt and wariness.

"Bella, I'm finding it very difficult to form an opinion on anything at the moment." Charlie said, I was taken aback by this statement and was wondering as to what conversation this was an opening to when Charlie continued:

"I'm not sure if I can really believe if Edward is as guilty as he claims. But that's what worries me, that I have to doubt the innocence of someone who my daughter spends a lot of time with and cares for" Charlie explained, looking very doubtful and worried.

"Dad, you can't honestly believe that Edward, EDWARD, of all people could actually murder his own father" I exclaimed indignantly.

"I don't know, Bells. Edward has always been a good kid and I would've never believed that he could ever get arrested for murder, but he confessed himself today and I have to admit that there is some pretty solid evidence against him" Charlie informed me.

"What evidence?" I demanded.

"Well, Bella, some fingerprints that were identified as Edward's were found on the piece of glass that had been found to be the weapon that had killed his father" Charlie notified me.

"With Edward's confession and the evidence we found, Edward will be very lucky if he can escape the death penalty" Charlie continued in a grim voice which caused all the blood to drain from my face.

"Dad, nothing is going to happen to Edward, at least not while I'm around" I told him resolutely.

"Well, if you're sure this is a good idea, Bells" Charlie told me as he walked away, leaving me to turn to Edward.

Edward was sitting on the cell floor, with his head leaning back into the wall. He seemed to be in deep thought, but I had never seen him look so bereft. There were dark shadows under his eyes, he was pale white, and his face looked so thin as though he's been deprived of food for over weeks.

I stared at him for a while, trying to contain the tears as I digested the pathetic state he was in. He didn't seem to notice my presence at all as he looked so deep in though. I swallowed back my tears as I slowly walked towards the bars until I was right in front of the bars, looking through the gaps into Edward's small cell. Then when I could take it no longer, I quietly murmured, just above a whisper:

"Edward"

He jolted upright and stared at me. He met my eyes and I could see the shock, the surprise and…joy at seeing me again and I smiled slightly at him.

"Bella?" he whispered as though unsure if it was really me standing there, here to see him.

"I've come to see you, Edward, I need to talk to you" I whispered, barely making it audible, but he heard me and he walked brusquely towards the bars, so that we were so close that the only thing that created space between was the cold bars of the cell. Edward stared into my eyes and I could feel the desperation well up in me to hold on to him, to cling so tightly to him that no one would ever be able to take him away from me.

I had to get Edward out of this hell-hole and I would, up until now, I had made it clear to everyone that I had decided to make that my ultimate goal, but it was as I stared into Edward's suffering, saddened eyes that I knew that I needed to get Edward out, the question of him not getting out was unthinkable to me, I knew that I would never be able to live with any other outcome. I knew in this instant that I was willing to sacrifice everything to save Edward. That was how deeply in love with him I was.

I knew that I was going to sacrifice a lot of things in my determination to save Edward, and the first thing I knew that I would have to sacrifice was my promise to Edward to keep myself safe, but I would break that promise for Edward's sake, because Edward's welfare was what kept me content. I would break that promise, for Edward's sake.

**Well, I know that not that much happened in this chap but I don't want to rush anything so there you go. Again, I apologise for not updating sooner but you guys have been absolutely fabulous and I would appreciate it very much if you would review. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you all for reviewing and so soon at that. I can't tell you how much it means to me, every time I read a review; I just about explode with joy. Anyway, here is the next chapter in Edward's POV. Review, please.**

**Chapter 11**

EPOV

Bella was here to see me. Why? Why was someone as pure and innocent as her here to see a vile murderer like myself? I was overjoyed to see her of course, delighted that at least someone cared enough to come here but that was precisely what I loathed myself for, the fact that I was actually taking pleasure in the fact that Bella was endangering herself for the sake of an evil killer like me. I stared into her brown orbs, losing myself in their chocolate depth, as I stared into her eyes, I blurted out the first thing that crossed my mind:

"Why are you here?"

Bella looked shocked at my question but smiled, a tight, stressed smile, as she answered in a calm voice that wobbled slightly only once: "I've come here to see you, of course"

"Alone?" I questioned, hoping stupidly, and hating myself for that, that Emmet, Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie would be here to see me.

"No, Alice and everyone and else came as well, they're waiting outside" Bella replied.

I felt my heart inflate as I heard that all of my friends were here to see me, but then no sooner had that joy crossed my heart, I thought with hurt that were they only here to support Bella, did they already hate me so much that they could not bear to even see me?

"They thought it might be better if you and I talked alone first before they came to see you" Bella notified me, had the hurt and remorse that had just cut my heart been visible on my face?

"Why?" I asked.

"Why what?" Bella said, her eyes conveying the confusion she so obviously felt and there was some other emotion surfacing in her beautiful brown eyes, was I mistaken or was it something like love? I couldn't be sure as I had never experienced the feeling myself but that unnameable emotion in Bella's eyes greatly resembled the look I often saw in Alice and Jasper's eyes whenever I caught them staring into each other's eyes, the same applied to Emmet and Rosalie. The love between these two couples was so powerful and intense that whenever I inadvertently saw these private moments between them, I immediately looked away, embarrassed at having seen something so intense and private.

"Why did they think that it would be better for us to talk alone?" I elaborated, feeling slightly amused at Bella's slowness, she seemed distracted as she stared at me, this point was obviously further emphasised at her lack of attention to my questions.

"Well, actually, Alice asked me if that was what I wanted and I agreed as there are a couple of things I want to talk to you about" Bella told me, her brown eyes never wavering from my face. Why was it that I couldn't see any hatred for me in her expressive eyes?

"Bella, you should hate me, I'm a criminal, and I don't understand why you even want to be here" I mumbled, the words catching in my throat, making it all the more difficult to say them and when eventually I did get them out, I could feel them scratching themselves painfully into my heart.

"Edward, hate yourself all you want but you'll never get me to hate you and I feel confident enough to speak on behalf of all your other friends who I'm certain would agree with me when I say that no matter how much you hate yourself and try to get us all to do the same, we'll never hate you just like that. We all know you too well to believe that you're as guilty as you claim" Bella finished her speech with a fervent affection in her eyes; her face took on an expression of such determined confidence and resolution that for a second, I almost believed her myself.

"I'm not claiming anything, Bella, I confessed everything today and you won't get anything from believing anything but the truth which is that I am a criminal. I deserve for you to hate me and whatever punishment the court decides for me, I will take it" I hissed at her.

"You're right; you will get exactly what you deserve. I'll make sure of that" Bella decided, lifting her chin slightly in a resolute, stubborn gesture.

"What does that mean?" I growled.

"It means that I will get you out of here" Bella hissed menacingly as she leaned in towards me as close as the bars of my cell would allow her.

"No, you're not doing anything of the sort for two very good reasons. Number one: you promised you would stay safe for me and no way am I going to let you get involved in a murder case. Number two: I am a criminal, criminals must be punished, and this is what I deserve" I snarled vehemently.

"You're not a criminal, Edward, you made one mistake, and it doesn't make you a criminal because you regret it a lot, anyone can see that and I know that whatever it is you did, you hate yourself for it and never want to do it again" Bella argued.

"Murder! Bella, I'm in here for murder. Do you call that a mistake? I'm a murderer, god damn it! And you insist on calling it one mistake and refuse to hate me for it. I'm a murderer, does that still make you want to help me?" I ranted in a furious shout.

Bella flinched at my outburst but stared silently at me. I felt myself go weak with remorse, grief and self-hatred that I could only let my legs collapse from under me and I fell to the ground, closing my eyes as I made no attempt to stand up again.

"Edward" I heard her say gently. I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes and see her lovely face adorning affection for me; I knew that that would just cause me to break down.

"Edward, please just listen to me" Bella pleaded and I nodded weakly, opening my eyes slowly to see her pain-filled face.

"Edward, will you tell me the whole truth? Will you at least tell me what happened?" Bella requested beseechingly.

"I'm sorry, Bella, I already told the whole truth, everything to the police when they interrogated me; I've already had to remember that…terrible night. I don't think I can do it again" I whispered, meeting her eyes evenly.

"Did you really k-k-kill your… father?" Bella whispered, obviously finding it very difficult to ask the question. I closed my eyes at this and leaned my head back into the cold, bleak wall of the cell. How could I answer her? Images of that dreadful night replayed themselves in my mind for the millionth time and I saw my poor, ill mother cowering against the wall as my father abused her. I had had to fight him, for her sake, I only did it for her.

"I had to do it…he would've killed her eventually…she's my mother, I have to protect her" I whispered as tears slid down my cheeks. How was I to protect my mother when I was stuck in here? How would she cope on her own? I hadn't seen her since the night of my father's murder. The last time I had seen her, her face had been contorted with hate and rage as she screamed at me, the anguished tears pouring down her face. Excruciating agony like I'd never felt before pierced my heart as these images filled every millimetre of my mind.

I felt a gentle hand squeeze my shoulder comfortingly and I opened my eyes to see Bella's brown eyes staring at me passionately. Her eyes were brimming over with tears and as I stared at her, I could see neither hate nor disgust on her face. I could only see kindness and affection in her face and eyes. I knew as I stared into her chocolate brown eyes that I would never be able to convince her to see me through my self-loathing view, she was always going to insist on helping and caring for me. I knew that I should have been ashamed at this, but I was already immersed in my hatred for myself and my grief that there wasn't enough left in me to feel shame at Bella's fondness for me, I could only feel solace in our unbreakable friendship.

Bella smiled comfortingly at me that conveyed only too clearly her determination in helping me and with one final squeeze on my shoulder, she withdrew her arm through the bars and got up from the crouch she had placed herself in to place herself at the same level of my sitting position. She began to walk away but not before I stopped her with one desperate, pleading request: "Bella, please look after my mother for me, please, I can't bear knowing that no one is caring for her".

Bella turned back to me to only reply: "Don't worry Edward, I promise I'll look after her until you get out of prison yourself to do it".

I nodded, feeling too drained with fatigue and emotional chaos to contradict her certainty that I will get a bail, I had barely eaten in the last few days and had slept even less, the nightmares making my sleep far from peaceful causing me to fear my unconscious mind, therefore I could only nod weakly as I closed my eyes and I felt myself drift slowly to sleep.

BPOV

I turned away from Edward as I saw his eyes close as his chest began to move in and out and I knew he was asleep. I gazed avidly at his face, I was glad to see that the distress and weakness- he looked as though he were ill, his pale, white face and dark shadows beneath his eyes implied that he'd been deprived of proper food and sleep- had relaxed somewhat in his face as he slept. I finally succeeded in forcing myself to turn away from Edward and managed to drag myself away from his cell. Now that his godlike presence was no longer near me, I felt my mind wander off to more agitating matters.

I remembered his distraught state when I asked him if he really did kill his father. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what his answer meant. I don't think he'd even been aware that he'd been speaking aloud; I thought back on his response, his slumped, defeated form as his expression expressed his internal pain. He had said that he had had to kill his father; else his father would've killed someone, his mother? I couldn't help but suspect that Edward might have killed his father out of helplessness; he had mentioned some necessity of protecting his mother, I wish Edward would've given me the whole story, I hated having using his small slips to put pieces together. It was like trying to fix a jigsaw puzzle when some pieces were lost and missing.

"Bella, how'd it go?" Alice exclaimed as I returned to their company. Her loud question brought me out of my reverie.

"Well…I now know for sure that there is a lot more to this than the eye can see" I told her.

"And what about Edward? How is he?" Jasper asked, betraying a hint of frantic worry.

I hesitated, wondering how I was supposed to frame an answer for them that would not ensue sadness from them, I sighed as I realised that there was nothing I could say to any of them that would ease their worry and agitation.

"He looks terrible, guys, he really hates himself for this and nothing I could say would make him feel better about himself, no matter how many times I told him that we all still cared for him. I hope I didn't say anything wrong, guys, when I told him that you all still care for him" I informed everyone.

"Bella, of course, you said nothing wrong, we all came here to see him and support him. In fact, I think that now that you've talked to him, we'll al go and see him" Rosalie replied.

"Actually he was already asleep by the time I left, I don't think you guys should disturb him, he really looked like he could use some sleep" I notified everyone.

"So what are we going to do?" Emmet queried. We all stared at him as though he was some escaped lunatic.

"About getting Edward out?" Emmet elaborated slowly as though we were the slow ones.

"I suppose we would have to get a lawyer" Jasper said slowly.

"I don't know, guys; he seemed pretty stubborn that he should get punished. The chances are that he's not going to agree with having a lawyer" I disputed critically.

"Well, he would need to go into court with some representation, right?" Jasper contradicted.

"Oh, who cares whether or not Edward wants a lawyer. I swear neither Edward nor Bella knows what's good for them otherwise they would've admitted their feelings for each other ages ago. I say we get Edward a lawyer whether he likes it or not" Alice ranted exasperatedly.

"WE, Alice, can't get him a lawyer as WE are still underage" I argued.

"Esme and Carlisle have already heard all about this and they want to get Edward out of jail just as much as we do, Bella. They will go find a lawyer themselves, Esme told me over the phone just now" Alice informed me condescendingly with a smug smile, I just stuck my tongue out at her playfully and she returned the gesture with a grin.

"Don't worry, Bella, Eddiepoo will be out of here in no time" Emmet assured me confidently.

"Emmet, stop giving her false hope. We don't even have a lawyer for Edward yet and when we do get him one, it won't be no time before he gets out, they'll still be a long trial to get through" Rosalie snapped at him but we all knew that her apprehension about all of this was what was causing her to be so moody.

"Don't worry, Rose, nothing is going to happen to Edward, I'll break him out myself if I have to" Emmet joked as he pulled Rosalie closer to him by her waist.

"Emmet, you'll never have to break Edward out because you'll probably just end up getting arrested yourself and we don't want to have to bail you out as well, in fact we'd probably just let you rot away in a jail cell and then celebrate at having finally gotten rid of you" Alice baited Emmet.

"Well, as long as I get to have Rosie in there with me then I don't mind" Emmet responded.

"Yeah but you wouldn't get to have sex with her then" Alice reminded him triumphantly.

Emmet frowned as he digested this and it was obvious from the intense concentration in his face that he was unable to think of any counter argument to this. Alice grinned triumphantly as she saw this and we all couldn't help but smile in amusement at this. Alice turned to smile at me comfortingly as she told me:

"Don't worry, Bella, none of us are going to rest until Edward is proven innocent"

I smiled back as I prayed silently that that all of this would be enough to save Edward.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone, I am so sorry for not updating sooner, it's just that I got really ill for a couple of days and then when I finally recovered, I wrote this chapter planning to publish it later but somehow it got deleted (I'm thinking it might be my sister's fault) and I had to start all over again. Anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you all like it, read and review please!**

**Chapter 12**

BPOV

"Bella, you have to come with me" Alice squealed.

"For the last time, Alice, you are not taking me shopping to cheer me up" I snapped, sketching air quotes around the 'cheer me up' as they were words Alice had used on one particular attempt to convince me to go shopping with her.

It had been a week since Edward had been arrested and each minute he spent in there seemed to make each breath for me more labouring and heavy. I never went out anymore except to attend school and because of this, all my friends were constantly worrying about me, panicking that I might be going into depression or something when the truth was that I never felt like going out because it would just remind me that Edward was trapped in a jail cell, not that I wasn't conscious of this fact every minute of the day.

"No, Bella, it's not that, I don't spend all my time worrying about shopping, you know" Alice scoffed at which I threw her a very cynical look; Alice lived for shopping, for her an hour spent without shopping was an hour wasted, in her opinion.

"Whatever Bella, shopping is one of life's necessities" Alice said in response to my expression and then continuing she told me: "Carlisle and Esme have found Edward a lawyer."

"What? Where? When? How?" I demanded, grabbing Alice by the shoulders and shaking her vigorously.

"Calm down, Bella, I don't know all of that, all I know is that Carlisle and Esme are talking to her downstairs so let go off me and stop going crazy" Alice responded in an attempt to placate me.

However, her words instead of pacifying me just excited me causing me to run out of the room and down the stairs without tripping once, miraculously. Once I had reached the bottom of the stairs, I edged my way forward until I was right outside the living room door. I didn't want to enter and look like I was just barging in without invitation so I remained at the door and craned my neck so that I could peer inside. I saw that Carlisle and Esme were conversing with a man and woman.

The man had russet coloured skin, he had deep set black eyes, long, jet black hair that was tied back, and was extremely tall, a couple of inches taller than Edward, however, the man, although he was handsome, he was nowhere near as handsome as Edward. I know I wasn't just being biased; Edward is the most beautiful guy on the face of this planet, no competition at all.

The woman was stunning. She was tall and slim with a figure most girls would die for; she was almost as tall and slim as Rosalie and almost as attractive; she had caramel coloured hair with honey coloured streaks running through her waist-length waves, she was extremely fair with cheeks that glowed with rose colour, and she had topaz brown eyes that were tinted with gold in the irises.

"Bella, you didn't need to run so fast" Alice scolded me loudly as she appeared by my side.

She wasn't shouting but it was loud enough for everyone's heads to swivel around in our direction and _that_ was enough to make me blush as red as a traffic light.

"Ah, Bella, Alice, I would like you to meet some good friends of mine" Carlisle informed us.

It was at this precise moment that Emmet came bounding down the stairs into the room and upon noticing the ravishing woman (but not the man who was sitting close to the woman with his hand on top of hers) enquired "Who's the chick?"

The woman, at this, raised an eyebrow and the man frowned slightly as he inched himself closer to the woman.

"I am Lily Deathgrave and this is my fiancé Jacob Black" Lily notified us all.

"Deathgrave?" Emmet repeated sceptically.

I didn't blame him, it did sound like a rather depressing surname to me.

"Yes, I know it's rather unusual surname so don't start with me" Lily snapped.

Jacob who had been watching this exchange noticed me and smiled as he asked me "What do you think of the name Black?"

I was taken aback by the absurdity of this question and the oddness of the fact that he was asking me this that I could only respond with a feeble "Erm…it's okay, I guess"

"That's good then because if you like it, you can have it as well as me" he smirked, winking at me and this caused me to mentally gag.

Lily hit him hard in the chest and he winced. After one disdainful glare at Jacob, she turned to me and told me apologetically "Don't mind him, he's always flirting with pretty girls no matter how many times I tell him not to. Sometimes I even wonder why I said yes to him when he proposed, then again, it's not too late to back out" Lily finished thoughtfully.

"Awww, don't be like that, Lil, you know that I only love you" Jacob moaned pleadingly.

Lily grinned as she told him "Now that's what I like to hear, now apologise to the nice girl who was nice enough not to slap you in the face like I would have"

Jacob sighed as he turned to me and said in a sincere voice "I'm really sorry miss…err" he stopped to look at me enquiringly.

"Call me Bella" I told him with a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that Bella, I hadn't meant to offend you, it's just that Lily is always so professional to her own fiancé and I just like to get her jealous from time to time" Jacob explained sincerely.

"It's alright, Jacob, Bella is with our Eddie anyway. He ended up in jail after he beat up the last guy who looked Bella up and down, the guy ended up in hospital with a lot of broken bones" Emmet stated, opening his big mouth before I even had a chance to open mine.

"No way!" Jacob exclaimed, staring at Emmet as though he were the most engrossing television programme.

"Yup, the guy's mate tried to give Bella his number so Edward gave him a paralysed neck" Emmet fabricated in a grave voice, oh he was a good actor, I'll give him that much, but we'll see how much of his moans will be acting when I get Alice to take him shopping.

"Shut up, Emmet, you're such a liar" I hissed.

"Sorry, Bella, I was only joking, your boyfriend is my friend, you know" Emmet told me with a wide grin stuck on his face.

"Bella and Edward are together" Esme remarked, her eyes lighting up with joy.

"No, we're not!" I cried whilst my cheeks flamed crimson.

"Yeah, they are, she's blushing, see" Emmet contradicted triumphantly, his grin widening.

"No, we're not!" I almost screamed, my own words stinging the wound that is the result of living with the fact that Edward could never be in love with me.

"Err…why don't we skip to the introductions?" Carlisle suggested hastily, obviously not wanting to get into the middle of our bickering.

"Lily, Jacob, this is Emmet, Alice, and Bella" Carlisle notified Lily and Jacob, indicating who was who with a wave of his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you" Alice gushed, barely concealing her excitement.

"I'm pleased to meet you too" Lily replied, smiling at all of us whilst Jacob did the same.

"Lily is an excellent lawyer and she has very kindly agreed to take on Edward's case" Carlisle informed the three of us.

"But Edward feels so guilty that he believes that he deserves to be found guilty by the court, he'll never agree to have a lawyer" I pointed out to everyone pessimistically.

Emmet leaned down and whispered to Alice and me "I don't think Edward will feel so guilty once he sees how hot his lawyer is".

"Shut up Emmet, Edward doesn't even think that way" I snarled, internally cringing as I looked at how stunning Lily was.

Emmet opened his mouth to retort but Alice, however, deprived Emmet of that opportunity by saying "I doubt Rosalie would be very appreciative of that thought, Emmet"

"She wouldn't mind, she knows that I have only eyes for her" Emmet mumbled.

"Yeah, we'll see if she agrees once she hears about your thoughts of how hot Lily is" Alice replied jubilantly, an evil smile playing around her lips.

"You wouldn't" Emmet said, turning pale.

"Don't worry, Bella, I'll get him back for you" Alice promised me.

"You're the best, Alice" I told her gratefully.

"I know" she agreed with a grin.

"You two are evil" Emmet muttered.

"We know" Alice and I agreed in unison.

I turned back to Lily who was at the door ready to leave with Jacob; I quickly asked her "Do you know when the trial will start?"

"I'm not exactly sure but it should be a little while after the funeral" Lily answered.

"Wait a minute, what funeral?" I demanded.

"John Mason's funeral" Lily replied slowly as though she was afraid of our reaction.

"Will Edward get to go to the funeral?" Alice queried calmly.

"Yes, he will be escorted with some officers who will remain with him for the entire funeral" (**A/N that is how it works right? Well, even if I got that wrong, let's pretend that's what happens because I need to include the funeral with Edward there, you'll see why).**

"What? Do they think that Edward is going to go crazy and massacre all the mourners?" Emmet scoffed with a derisive snort.

"I assure you that that is not what they think, that is just how things work" Lily replied, the corners of her lips twitching as though she were fighting back a smile.

"Come on, Lil, we got reservations at a restaurant for dinner" Jacob whined impatiently but then smiling as he turned to me and Alice.

"Maybe you charming ladies would permit me to take you to dinner some time" Jacob suggested, winking at us.

Lily slapped him on the head as she scolded him "Don't start that again, you pervert"

"You know I love you really" Jacob quipped back, grinning.

"Yeah I know but I'm not sure if I feel the same way" she retaliated teasingly.

Jacob laughed as he placed his hand on the small of her back and gently pushed; they smiled at all of us as they exited the front door.

"Great choice, dad, that chick is hot" Emmet boomed as he turned to Carlisle.

Carlisle shook his head at his childish son and then informed us "Lily is an excellent lawyer, if anyone can save Edward, it is her".

"Bella, it's getting late, you should go home before your father gets worried" Esme reminded me.

I smiled and bade them all goodbye as I left their house. I walked over to where my beloved truck was parked, I had just got it back a couple of days ago, fully repaired and I was glad to be able to drive myself everywhere instead of having to accept rides from Rosalie and Alice. As I drove home in my truck, I realised we had finally got a lawyer for Edward but we were still a long way off from actually saving Edward.

**Well, there you have it, chapter 12, read and review please, by the way, do people wear all black on funerals, I need to know, I can't really remember the last funeral I went to and what I do remember of it was that I managed to get out school for it but that meant I ended up going to the funeral in my school uniform, but yeah what do people wear to funerals? Review please and tell me. I can only write the next chapter if you review and answer my question. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Make sure you guys review even if it is just to tell me how much you want to beat with me a stick for updating so late, it's just that I had so much textiles coursework to be getting on with, if I knew the subject entailed so much hard work then I would never have taken it! Oh well, please review, I can't tell you how much your reviews mean to me. **

**Chapter 13**

EPOV

'_Darkness. Darkness was all I could see as I ran down the gravelled footpath. I had been out during the night, sometimes even at midnight, my mother was too ill to notice and was always in bed by nine o'clock anyway to notice whether or not I was in the house and my father, well, he couldn't care less if I was hanging off the edge of a cliff. Yes, I had been outside alone at night and I had never felt any fear or apprehension so being outside now at night shouldn't be any trouble for me and yet as my feet fell upon the footpath I could feel my heart beat erratically and perspiration bead my forehead, not out of the exercise but out of the discomfort of terror. _

_There was hardly any moonlight to illuminate my course; black clouds shielded the moon's light from the eyes of any living being, therefore, I was sprinting in pitch black darkness without any notion of where I was heading. I only knew that I was running, running away from the blood-curdling screams of agony that came from behind me but no matter how fast or how much I ran, the screams were as loud as ever, as though they were coming from beside me, even as I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I flinched every time I heard a new scream pierce the air, even as I ran. _

_However, I felt my foot stumble over something which caused me to plummet towards the ground, my face landing in the gravel. I spat out the gravel that had entered my mouth when I landed on the footpath and sat up as fast as I could so that I could recommence my attempts at escaping the screams. However, as I sat up, I saw something that made me forget all about trying to stand up again- although by no means did it make me forget the heart wrenching screeches- something that made my blood turn to ice in my veins, something that caused a frosty chill to grip my heart: as I sat up, the clouds in the sky revealed a sliver of moonlight that fell upon me, illuminating a gravestone- only now did I realise that I had been running in a graveyard- a gravestone that was engraved with the words:_

_R.I.P_

_John Mason _

_Loving Husband and father _

'_Lost in a humane blurring crowd,_

_For how long shall this jostling crowd shroud?_

_The darkness that spreads over the lives of some.'_

_The more significant thing that scared the living daylights out of me about this grave- aside from the name that carved the stone- was that where the body should be buried, there was nothing there except for a deep, deep hole that was empty where the body should go, I peered into this deep, empty hole with a sense of foreboding and as I gulped and looked away I found myself looking at a pair of shoes. Shoes that were splattered with blood. I looked up to see the face of the wearer of such spine-chilling shoes, only to see my father standing there, his face gaunt and white as his death-cold eyes glared murderously at me…'_

I jolted upright, drenched in sweat and attempted to jump of the bed in my cell swiftly, too swiftly as I hadn't realised how close to the edge of the bed I had been, thus causing me to fall out of my bed, my forehead banging slightly against one of the bed's railings as I plummeted towards the ground. Sunlight fell through the bars of the small window built into the back wall of the cell. I still had difficulty thinking of this place as MY cell. I wiped the sweat of my forehead, relieved to see that it was only a nightmare, however, my relief lasted only a second before I took in my surroundings. I was glad that I was no longer in that graveyard but not any happier to see that I was awake to find myself in this jail cell.

My heart was still beating wildly and I was breathing heavily as though I had actually been running in that horrible graveyard rather than just dreaming it. When will these nightmares end? I was afraid to go to sleep every night now lest should I have such dreams as these and therefore I endeavoured to fight sleep every night without any success but even when I did fall asleep, I would wake up again in only a couple of hours. I hadn't had a decent night's sleep since…that night and I was sure my appearance reflected that.

I began to pace up and down. I wanted my trial to start as soon as possible. This anxiety was gnawing at my insides each minute. I came to an abrupt halt as I contemplated something else: today was my father's funeral. I had every wish to avoid the whole event but there was one desperate desire that urged me to attend John Mason's worthless funeral: the desire to see my mother. She had blatantly neglected to visit me or send any word of contact. I wanted to go to the funeral and see if she was being taken care of even if she wasn't going to talk politely to me, she would probably screech at me again, not that I blamed her, I deserved it.

My life had always been a dark vortex of misery but I'd pretty much gotten used to it, at least before it had been in my control but now it was rapidly spiralling into disaster. Before all of this, I had been able to endure my life as I was always able to turn to Bella. She was the first person I had ever allowed to invade the solitude I set up around myself when I was upset, she was the first person to become my friend…

'_I couldn't help it. I couldn't stand just having to stand around and watch him shout at mom and then hit her again and again. I wish I was tall enough and strong enough to stop him from hitting her but I was only a scrawny little ten year old who couldn't do anything to help his mom. That was why I ran out the house like a coward while he beat her up, if I tried to stop him then he would just start beating both of us up. I had to get out of there before I started crying and made him angry, he hated crying, it always made him angrier which made him hit mom and me even more. _

_That was why I needed to get out of the house before I started bawling. I just ran, running always made me feel better, like I was doing something instead of just standing around, doing nothing. I ran but then felt my face hit the ground, surprisingly. I never tripped whilst running, I was good at running. I looked up and saw why I had just fallen, a boy about my age had tripped me up. _

"_You should watch where you're going Mason, oh, I forgot, it's hard to watch when you're going when you're crying like big baby" the boy jeered._

_I hadn't realised that I had been crying till I touched my cheek just now to feel a wet tear there. I guess I had been thinking too much about my git of a father. _

"_Do you want us to get your mommy for you?" the boy jeered whilst his friends laughed as though it were the funniest thing in the world, although personally I think the only funny thing around here was that boy's face as he looked like the baby around here, with the chubby cheeks that only a five year old would have. _

"_Or is your mommy too much of a chicken to come out here for you, Mason?" he sneered and anger like I had never felt before made me stand up and glare at the boy. _

_How dare he talk about my mom like that? He had no idea how lucky he was that he didn't have a father like me and that his mom didn't need him to look after her and yet here he was making fun out of my mom. I stepped towards him, feeling so angry that I wanted to punch him and kick him so hard and so much that he wouldn't be able to scream anymore because I hurt him so much. As I felt my fist get ready to punch his face, I stepped towards him and he stepped back, now looking scared (was I looking so angry that he felt scared of me now?) I lifted my fist slightly to begin punching him but then the look of fear and pain on my mother's face when my father was hurting her came into my mind and I no longer wanted to hurt the boy, I didn't want to make this boy look like my mother because no one deserved the life me and my mother had. _

_For the first time ever, I no longer felt fear when I thought of my father, but anger. I hated him now when I realised what he put me and my mom through. I hated him more than I could ever hate anybody and now I was never going to let him hurt my mom again even if it meant that I would have to let him beat me. I didn't want to be like my father in any way at all. He was an evil monster and I never wanted to be anything like him, i now decided that I will always be the opposite. _

"_What's the matter, Mason? Too scared to say anything" the boy mocked, bringing me out of my hate-filled thoughts about my git of a father. _

_I said nothing, but turned around and began to walk away but the boy grabbed my shoulder and spun me around so that I was facing his stupid face again. _

"_Don't you dare walk away from me, cry baby Mason" he said. _

"_Leave him alone, Mike" a girl with dark hair and chocolate brown eyes shouted with an angry look on her face as she glared at the boy. _

"_Why? He's a big baby and chicken, you know, Bella" he replied._

_This made me angry and I shouted so angrily that it even surprised me "Call me whatever you want but don't you ever say anything about my mother, you hear me, you bitch" as I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against a wall, I was surprised that I could do this, he wasn't exactly light, I never knew that I was that strong. _

"_G-g-got i-i-it" he stuttered, looking terrified. _

_I let him go and he ran away without looking back once and I sank down onto the ground, thinking off my beloved mother who was still being treated badly by my father._

"_Are you alright?" the girl said as she sat down beside me. _

"_No, but it doesn't matter, why should you care?" I wasn't being rude on purpose; I couldn't understand why she would care about whether or not I was alright. _

"_Not everyone is as selfish and uncaring as Mike, you know" the girl said. _

"_Strange, everyone, I know is as bad as him or worse" I argued, not believing her words, I wasn't normally this honest, but something about the wide eyed brown innocence about her pretty eyes made me feel comfortable about being this honest with her. _

"_Come on, I'm sure your parents at least treat you way better than that, they must look after you and love you to bits" the girl replied. _

_I winced at how wrong her guess was and also about how her words reminded me that I had to look after my mother as she was ill. The girl seemed to notice how uncomfortable I was about her words, did she notice everything?_

"_Is there something wrong between you and your parents?" she asked and she looked genuinely worried._

_Again, I felt that I could be honest with her, so I answered "My mother is ill so I have to look after her", deliberately not saying anything about my father. _

"_And your father?" she asked._

_I stiffened and said nothing, wondering if I should just walk away and go back to my mother now but the girl as though she read my mind said quickly:_

"_Please don't go, you don't have to answer, I didn't' mean to make you unhappy, I promise I won't ask again if you don't like to talk about it"_

_I smiled, liking this girl more and more. She was kind and seemed honest and caring and she certainly wasn't one of those people who were so nosy they wouldn't let anything drop. This girl seemed to be happy to just listen to people talk if they felt like it and she seemed to like making people feel better if they were upset. She wasn't like anyone else I knew, she said not everyone was like Mike but so far she was the only person I had met who I thought I might be able to care for for other than my mother. _

"_What's your name?" I asked, wanting to get to know her more._

"_Isabella but I like Bella" she answered._

"_I'm Edward" _

"_I was just on my way to meet some of my friends, would you like to come?" she offered._

_I though about it but as though she knew that I was going to say no quickly said "Oh please come. I'm sure they would all love to meet you, they're really nice and friendly, at least try to get to know them, for my sake at least" she begged. _

"_Alright, but only for a little while, I'm getting worried about my mom, I want to be home soon to see if she's alright" I replied, again, being honest seemed so easy with her. _

_She grinned widely as though my presence made her happy. She got up and I did the same, following her to meet her friends.'_

Bella had introduced me to all her friends, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmet, and Alice and I was happy to find that I thought them all quite amiable and over the years, the six of us became quite close, almost like family.

"It's time to go" an officer informed me as he stopped in front of my cell.

I nodded and he unlocked the cell to step inside to hand cuff me, with that, he led me out of the cell. It had been days since I had even breathed air outside of the cell but I couldn't exactly enjoy it as I knew that I would be getting many stares when I step outside and arrive at the funeral in handcuffs. The whole journey I hardly noticed as I was too immersed in my thoughts about my father. I had always hated him and wished for him to be out of my life but I had never hoped or even thought that I would ever have to attend his funeral.

I only realised that we had arrived when I felt the officer tug on my arm and I clambered out of the car. I hadn't expected so many people to come, I had always made sure that no one knew that much of my father so it was a surprise to see so many people flock here to grieve his death, who am I kidding? Not I, that was for sure, Forks was a small town, any news was big news around here, most people had most likely come here to get a good gawping chance at the supposed murderer (myself, obviously) of the guy they hardly knew.

I searched the crowd for the familiar face that had compelled me to come here in the first place. I saw Bella, Emmet, Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper smile comfortingly at me and I tried to smile back but quickly went back to scanning the crowds for my mother. I finally found her, cowering away from the guests who approached her as she sat in a corner. She was dressed in black, her skin white, pale, and sickly looking, she looked like death walking, she sat with her shoulders hunched, and looked so desolate and vulnerable that my heart throbbed. I longed to saunter up to her and comfort her but then the quiet murmurs that came from the guests were stilled as the coffin was brought out.

There were no tears as no one had known him that well. Well, that was what I had thought until a heart wrenching sob broke the silence and every head swivelled around to stare at my mother as she wept her heart out. I wanted to so badly to go and console her but the handcuffs and the officer on my side forced me to stay where I was.

I saw Esme attempt to soothe her but my mother instead fell upon her knees and continued to cry. I felt anger possess every fibre of my body, anger and hatred for my father overwhelmed me and I found tears pouring out of my eyes as I heard myself yell in a voice hoarse with tears and emotion:

"Do you see what you've done to her, John Mason? You ruined her life and yet she grieves over your death and you could never find it in your heart while you were alive to return any of her love."

Everyone turned to stare at me as though I had lost my sanity and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the officer who was supervising me shoot me a warning look but I was past caring. I was too overcome with anger and hatred for John Mason to listen to any reason.

"She always loved you even though you didn't deserve it and I hate you. You ruined my life, I never had a real mother because you ruined her health with all your abuse and because she was too ill I had to look after her even as a kid. I hate you for hurting my mother, I hate you ruining her life as well as mine, and though I regret that I ended your life because I never meant for you to die, I don't regret that you can't hurt her anymore. I'm glad you're dead and can't hurt her anymore" I yelled.

The officer was now glaring at me and all the guests were staring at me with shock. But now the tears were staring to blur my vision and I could only shout at the top of my voice:

"I hate you, John Mason, I don't want you to be dead, I want you to be alive so that I can take away all your drinks and make you see what you've done to her because no one can ever do anything but pity her. I want you to be alive and suffer worse than her and then I want you to die a slow, painful death, you don't deserve to live, but you don't deserve to die so quickly without suffering any punishment"

The officer was now forcefully dragging me away and he was too strong to resist. All I could do was watch my mother weep pain-filled sobs as I was dragged off. As I watched her through tear–filled eyes, I shouted as loud as I could:

"I'm sorry mom that you got such a terrible life. I'm sorry that I didn't do the right thing before and get you taken away from him, and I'm sorry that I couldn't die along with that bastard John Mason".

BPOV

Everyone was staring at Edward as he was dragged off by the officer, astounded. Tears had flowed freely down my cheeks as I had listened to Edward's scornful, hate-filled words but as I heard him shout apologies to his mother, a sob wracked my body and Alice wrapped an arm around my waist as Rosalie put an arm around my shoulders. Edward was suffering so much. Never before had I felt so acute a need to help him, I knew that the more I saw him suffer, the harder it became for me to stay composed. It seemed as if fate was doing everything to torture Edward, but I was not going to let any pain come within ten miles of Edward, not anymore.

**As I said before, I am so sorry for the late update but please review because I need a favour from you guys. I don't know much about court so if you want me to write about Edward's trial, you're going to have to review and tell me some stuff about court and help me and if you don't want to hear about the whole trial then you're going to have to review and tell me. So if you want the next chapter, you're going to have to review and help me out. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, originally, I had planned that the next chapter would be about Edward's trial but as I mentioned before I cannot write about Edward's trial yet as I don't know enough about law and the court (and I hope you all remember me asking you all to help me out with that) which is why this chapter is not about Edward's trial! I know I'm nuts but I had a real crappy day and I needed to start writing something to make myself feel better and when I sat down to think, I got this brainwave! So you should all thank fate for giving me such a shit day otherwise you all would never have got such a quick update.**

**Well, I'll stop yammering on and let you read, but can you please drown me in reviews? Please, I had a really bad day; your reviews would make me feel better. Please?**

**Chapter 14**

EPOV

Darkness. Darkness was what I was submerged in. Reality is worse than nightmares that are produced from your subconscious mind because with nightmares, you can end them by waking up to reality. But how do you escape your nightmare when it is in fact your reality?

I had hardly slept last night after I had been dragged forcefully into my cell after my outbursts at the funeral. The officers had left me to weep in my cell thinking that I was just having a breakdown, a mood swing or whatever reason they wanted to believe for my behaviour at my father's funeral. I mean, any stupid assumption was better than believing the cold hard truth which was that I meant every word I'd screamed at the funeral, right?

I surmise that everyone at the funeral who bore witness to my behaviour assumed that I had just lost my mind or had a breakdown and that I didn't really mean what I said. Well, it wasn't as though they were right that I should care. Every word I'd shouted had come from my heart; they'd been locked up tight inside me for so many years. I really did hate my father, he didn't deserve my mother's affections. I was glad that he couldn't hurt her anymore. All of these thoughts had crept into my heart so many years ago and had contaminated my happiness but I had always kept them locked up.

I had vowed to myself that I would never utter those thoughts aloud but seeing my mother grieve so desolately for my vile father at his funeral just caused my composure to crash into dust and the words had just escaped my mouth before I could even think of taking them back. But, to my surprise I'd found that once the first couple of words had escaped me, I liked the feeling of liberation it gave me and I didn't want to stop. I had liked the solace I had felt as I poured out my hatred for my father. I had felt as though a staggering burden had been lifted off of my shoulders as I notified all the guests of my hatred for my deceased father.

The guests could condemn me, or judge me, or exile me, or think ill of me or whatever they wanted but I knew that no matter what happened now, I would never be able to stop hating my father, not even if I lived to a million years, nor would anyone or anything compel me to regret those words I had yelled at the funeral.

However, that did not mean that I felt any hope or happiness. I only felt as though one huge burden had been lifted off of me, just one, the other burden was as heavy as ever. Although, it was a relief to finally have confessed my hatred, it left me as hopeless and useless as ever. I could see no ray of light that signified anything to hope for. My nightmare of being surrounded by darkness had indeed become reality.

"Edward" I heard a soft and gentle voice say.

I looked up to see Bella standing behind the bars of my cell with another woman.

"Edward, this is Lily Deathgrave" Bella introduced the woman.

I raised my eyebrows. Why was she introducing me to this woman? I was in jail not at a social event.

Bella took a deep breath and quickly blurted out something quickly as though she were saying something equivalent to the blackest blasphemy.

"Sorry, you were speaking too fast, can you say that again?" I asked Bella.

She took another deep breath and this time I heard her when she said "Lily has agreed to be your lawyer."

"But I don't want a lawyer" I stated slowly.

Bella sighed and muttered something that I caught only a part of which sounded something like "…knew this was going to happen"

"Lily, can you excuse us for a moment? Edward and I need a minute alone" Bella requested politely, turning to Lily.

"Of course, Bella, I'll be right here when you need me" Lily smiled reassuringly at Bella, giving her a friendly pat on the arm before she walked away.

Once Lily was out of earshot, Bella turned back to me with a resigned expression on her face that matched her sigh.

"Okay, Edward, before you launch into your "I don't want a lawyer" tantrum, let me just warn you that you are outnumbered in this one. We all want you out of this rat hole, including Carlisle and Esme" Bella forewarned me.

"Carlisle and Esme are not my conscience. They don't know what the right thing for me to do in this situation is" I snapped.

"If your conscience was as morally correct as you think then you would know that by doing all of this, you are hurting everyone" Bella retaliated.

"Well then that just proves that no matter what I do I always end up hurting the ones I love which makes it all the more better that I should be trapped in here where I belong" I retorted.

However, I now wished that we had never taken our argument in this direction for as soon as those words had escaped me, images of my mother's cowering form, my father's death white face as the piece of glass pierced his shirt, into his chest and into his heart, killing him replayed themselves again in my head. I felt my knees go weak at these recollections and I closed my eyes as I sank down onto the floor.

Bella's small fingers caressing my cheek gently, forced my eyes open as I stared into her brown orbs.

"Edward, those things you said at your father's funeral, I have to know, did you mean them?" Bella questioned pleadingly as she begged me with her sincere, expressive eyes.

I couldn't say no to her. So I closed my eyes and leaned my head into her gentle hand that was still on my cheek.

"Yes"

"I'm sorry you're suffering so much" Bella murmured.

"Don't be, it's not your fault, besides I deserve every bit of it" I argued dejectedly, removing my head from her palm's gentle caress to lean it back into the hard wall of the jail cell.

"Stop it, Edward" Bella reprimanded.

"Stop what?" I queried.

"Hating yourself, Edward. Every bad thing that has happened to you, you can only say that you think you deserve it. You don't. Fate is just playing some sick game with you. You might be ready to reconcile yourself with it but I'm not, you hear that, I am simply not ready to lose the person I lo-"

Bella abruptly stopped and I opened my eyes to stare at her inquisitively. What was she about to say?

Bella after a slightly awkward pause continued "I'm not ready to lose the person I like as one of my best friends"

That was definitely not what she was going to say, she was going to say something else, she got as far as "lo-" and then stopped, why had she stopped and then pretended to say something else? She couldn't have been about to say "love", could she? My eyes widened at the thought. Bella couldn't possibly love me, we had been friends for years and I didn't even deserve her friendship let alone her love. Bella deserved someone better than me, someone who wasn't a repulsive, vile criminal like me.

"Edward, I need you to tell me something" Bella pleaded beseechingly.

I stared into her beautiful brown eyes and again I saw that unnameable emotion scorch her eyes. Could that emotion I'd seen before in her eyes possible be love?

"Edward, will you please tell me the truth? I want to help you" she pleaded.

"Bella, why?" I asked.

"Why what?" she asked, looking puzzled.

"Why do you want to help me so much?" my curiosity increasing with each minute.

"And please tell me the truth" I added.

"Why should I answer any of your questions when you don't answer mine? Edward" Bella retorted.

I had nothing to say and Bella continued "I always answer your questions as honestly as I can and all I ask is that I get the same from you. But you just can't seem to trust me with even that much and I want to help you Edward but you won't let me."

Her eyes were now brimming with tears and I felt pain upon seeing her so distraught.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. I never realised how much I was hurting you, if I had known, I would have answered every question of yours as honestly as I could if I knew that it makes you happy" I told her sincerely.

"Will you please tell me the truth then?" Bella requested, the tears still pouring from her eyes.

"Fine"

And with that I began to recount the events of that disastrous night. I could feel the pain begin to surface as I narrated that night, threatening to overwhelm me but it never did. Bella sat on the floor on the other side of the bars, listening attentively, she held my hand in hers the whole time and whenever I came to a particularly painful moment in my story, she would squeeze my hand comfortingly. She uttered not a word as I spoke and as I watched her face avidly, studying her facial expression, I saw no change except in her eyes. The change in her chocolate brown eyes was that that unnameable emotion in her eyes just seemed to blaze brighter with every word I spoke.

BPOV

As I listened to Edward's sad tale, I could feel nothing but compassion for his suffering. My love for him only grew as I listened to how he tolerated his abusive father, how he protected his ill mother. Edward had to mature long before his time and I loved him all the more for that. As I heard him tell me how he had picked up that sharp piece to defend himself from his father. I could feel the salt tears on my cheeks as the true impact of Edward's pain fully dawned on me.

I felt my heart inflate so much that it felt ready to burst. My heart sang as hope reached it and enveloped it in its welcome embrace. Edward had ceased talking now and he was staring at me intently. I knew that I did not want to remain here any longer; I wanted to go to Lily and tell her what I had learned. That Edward had only killed his father out of self defence; surely the court couldn't punish him for that.

I looked at Edward and smiled. I then leaned in to kiss his cheek was just centimetres away from the bars. As I kissed his cheek and caught a whiff of his delicious scent, I whispered to him "Thank you Edward for trusting me with the truth, I promise I'll get you out of here soon".

With that, I leaped off of the floor, almost tripping in the process, but I prevented that by grabbing hold of one of the bars.

I had already walked a couple of paces when I heard Edward call out "Bella"

I turned back and saw with some surprise that his shimmering green eyes were scorching with intensity as he asked "Why are you determined to help me?"

I gulped as I realised I had no answer but the truth. I couldn't say because you're my friend, Alice and Rosalie weren't as determined as me and he knew that. There was only one answer I could give to his question and I simply wasn't ready to tell him that yet.

"I can't tell you Edward. Not yet. I will someday but now is not the right time" I replied and then I turned away and quickly ran before he could call me back.

**Okay, that's it, remember, i can't start writing about the trial until you offer me some help. So review please!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi everybody! It's me again. I would just like to say a big thank you to Girl who reads for her very informative pm. I would also like to thank anyone who wished me an early happy birthday (you know who you are). Now are you ready for chapter 15? (Oh my god I just realised that I'm publishing chapter 15 when I've just turned 15, now that's freaky!) I can't believe that we've got this far into the story already; it's quite amazing to me. Let me know what you think! Review please!**

**Chapter 15**

BPOV

I ran back to where Lily stood waiting for me. I was still irked at myself at how easily I almost let slip my true feelings to Edward. Obviously, getting emotional was a dangerous move for me as I didn't think as clearly as I should in order to be cautious about what I say. However, the fact that Edward had noticed my desperation to get him back by my side was not good as I knew that it meant that he would be persistent about finding out the reason for my determination on his freedom which meant that eventually I will have to tell him that I was madly-head-over-heels-always-thinking-about-him in love with him.

Lily was standing patiently; not even tapping her foot like most people would do in the same familiar irritating fashion that Alice liked to adopt with me constantly. She was standing with her back to me as she spoke on her phone. I didn't want to be rude and interrupt so I stood and waited for her to finish. She put her phone away as she ended her call and turned around to face me, her lovely caramel waves that were streaked with a gorgeous honey gold colour rippling elegantly as she turned.

I had to confess that Jacob Black was a hell of a lucky guy to have found someone like Lily. She was beautiful and had a charming personality to match. No one could help but love her. She was intelligent, extremely so, she had a perceptive way of noticing things that most people wouldn't. But what really warmed me and all of the Cullens and Hales to her was her witty sense of humour, kindness, and self-confidence.

Lily threw me a dazzling smile as she turned to see me. I realised that she must've been talking to Jacob before, in the time that I had gotten to know her I had learnt that whilst she was a relatively content and light-hearted person, she always became blissfully happy whenever she spoke or saw her fiancé, Jacob. I didn't blame her; I had also got to know Jacob who was a very likeable person and was pleasant to be around.

"Bella, how did your talk with Edward go?" Lily enquired, that blissful smile still playing around her lips.

"It was very interesting, in fact. He's not going to give us too much trouble though he's still not happy about all of us getting involved" I told her.

"Bella, I hope you told him that it is my job to get involved in such things. Lawyers get paid to be in the centre of all the drama of these kinds of things; you can't possibly think that your stubborn boyfriend is going to ruin my fun" Lily replied, a grin stretching across her face as amusement lit up her gold-tinted topaz eyes.

However, as her eyes lit up with amusement, my cheeks lit up, but unlike her eyes, my cheeks lit up a traffic light red, out of embarrassment.

"He's not my boyfriend" I mumbled, red still colouring my cheeks.

"Yeah right, because strangers really act like their lives revolve around each other like you two do" Lily scoffed.

"I don't know what Emmet and everyone else have been telling you but I promise you that there is nothing like that between me and Edward"

"Emmet and Alice haven't told me anything, Bella. The love between you two is just so obvious that complete strangers can feel it" Lily told me honestly and when I studied her face carefully, I saw that every feature of her face was lined with sincerity.

"I don't know what you're talking about" I replied stubbornly.

"Bella, do you really think that a liar as bad as you can actually fool a lawyer, especially one as perfect as me?" Lily retorted, finishing in a teasing voice.

"Am I really that obvious?" I moaned as embarrassment flamed my cheeks.

"You mean Edward doesn't know that you love him?" Lily enquired slowly as shock became evident on her face.

I hung my head as I answered "No he doesn't and I don't want him to ever find out"

"You can't honestly mean that, Bella" Lily gasped.

What was she so shocked about? Did she expect that I would want to face the humiliation of Edward's rejection when I told him how I felt about him?

"But why ever not, Bella?" Lily asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders which gifted my nostrils with a whiff of her soft scent, the scent reminded me of Edward and I found myself thinking of Edward because of her similar scent.

As soon as Lily had brought up Edward, I had decided that I simply did not want to go into any of this but somehow, Lily's arm around my shoulders, her gentle caring voice just made me want to talk to her. I had discussed this with Alice and Rosalie lots of times but every time I got the same opinion, the same arguments. I knew that Lily would most definitely listen to everything I say, not that my friends didn't do that excellently anyway, but that Lily would listen to me and offer a completely unbiased opinion.

At any rate, I found myself telling her "I'm afraid that he won't feel the same way".

I waited for Lily to say 'Of course he loves you' but she said nothing. How could she know if Edward loves me? She hadn't even had a complete conversation with him.

"Has he ever done anything to make you think that he doesn't feel the same way, Bella?" Lily enquired.

I blinked a couple of times. When I had finally got over the initial surprise that her question rose in me, I finally answered "Well…no, but that doesn't prove anything either because even if Edward did feel the same way, you would still never be able to tell that from his behaviour. Edward has always been rather closed up, he never really shows his emotions and he's good at hiding what he really feels"

Much too good and I wish he wasn't so good at masking at his emotions because if he wasn't then maybe, just maybe, I might have been able to sense that all was not well with Edward.

"Well, if that's the case, Bella, I think that it really comes down to whether or not you tell him about your feelings because as you said you can never really tell what he is feeling so the only way you'll ever know is if you ask him" Lily advised me.

"But what if he doesn't feel the same way? I don't want our friendship ruined, I can live with the fact that he doesn't feel the same way but I don't think I would be able to live without his friendship" I disputed.

"Bella, no one can ever be happy with suffering unrequited love. You might be able to convince yourself that you can stay happy with just being friends him but you know that that is not the truth. You love him, Bella; love isn't something that you can turn on and off when you feel like it. It's impossible for you to love him and forget that for even one minute and just think off him as a friend because obviously you don't think of him as a friend, you're only pretending to and there is a big difference between pretending and reality" Lily explained to me and as I saw the intelligence and wisdom in her face and eyes, I knew that she was right.

"But what if he doesn't feel the same way?" I repeated the question again, the mere thought of Edward rejecting me slicing across my heart.

"And what if he does the feel the same way?" Lily retaliated.

"Bella, I understand what you mean about Edward not feeling the same way, but you don't know that. For all you know, he could be in love with you, waiting for you to make the first move and if that is the case then if you don't make your move soon, he might come to believe that you never will make your move because you don't love him and he might then give up on you and move on. That might not be the case but you'll never know unless you go and find out and if you leave it too late and miss your chance, you'll spend the rest of your life in regret, always wondering what might have happened if you acted differently" Lily continued, her arm rubbing soothing circles into my back, it was what I had done to Edward when he had been grieving over what he had done that night.

The memory made a lump form in my throat and I swallowed in an attempt to dislodge it. I had never thought of any of the things Lily had told me, the possibility of Edward rejecting me always made me cower away from a confrontation but I had never thought of it the way Lily had explained to me. I guess I had always known that I would have to tell Edward one day but I had always shied away from every opportunity that was thrown at me. Was it possible that by running away I was making a mistake?

"Thanks Lily, I had never thought of it that way" I told Lily gratefully, throwing my arms around her neck and hugging her without any discomfort, I really had come to think of her as my friend.

"So does that mean you'll tell him?" Lily asked me as we pulled apart.

"I don't know. I suppose I will one day, when the time is right. But at any rate I don't think I will tell him anything until after this case is over" I answered.

Lily nodded with a serious expression on her face as she said solemnly "I agree. This case is already complicated enough for me without having to deal with the melodramas of two love struck teenagers"

I frowned at her playfully and she smiled at me which in turn made me smile.

"Thanks for being so supportive and helpful." I thanked Lily sincerely.

"No problem, Bella, I feel so useless when I have to watch you suffer and I just can't wait for this trial to commence. I want to help as much as I can in any way possible" Lily replied, the determination and obstinacy evident in her tone.

"You don't need to feel that you're obliged to do all of this" I told her.

"I know. I want to. I just wish that we could get more evidence to back our case up" Lily moaned fretfully.

Her last comment made me recall why I had been so eager to talk to her.

"Lily, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about" I enthused excitedly.

"What is it, Bella?" Lily queried.

"I think I've got you some information that might help you with Edward's case" I notified her, my excitement leaking into my voice.

"Did Edward tell you the events of that night?" Lily enquired, het tone immediately reverting back to her professional demeanour.

"Yes he did" I answered and I then proceeded to recount to her exactly what Edward had told me.

Her facial expressions varied from astonishment at what had happened to Edward, sympathy for his mother and him, disgust at his father's behaviour, and finally hope and excitement by the time I had ceased speaking.

"You know what this means, Bella. We can bail Edward out on the argument that he acted only in self-defence to his father's abusive attack, that his father would've killed him or his mother eventually, that he had had to fight his father to protect himself and his mother" Lily almost squealed, barely restraining herself from jumping up and down.

If it were Alice, she would've squealed by now and would have begun jumping up and down, clapping her hands. But Lily was much more professional than Alice and a lot less excitable.

"This is brilliant, Bella" Lily exclaimed, hugging me warmly.

I could only grin stupidly as I contemplated the thought of Edward leaving jail. I wanted to sing as I thought that it was only a matter of time till Edward was once again by my side.

**Okay, that's chapter 15. Review! It's my birthday, you know…**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm really sorry for the late update but I was kind of…scared of writing the trial as I'm really worried that I might mess up but I'm trying anyway, just don't be too harsh on me if I do screw up. **

**Chapter 16**

BPOV

"Bella, please stop fidgeting for one minute so that I can do your hair right" Alice scolded me.

"Sorry, Alice" I mumbled.

Yes, Alice was playing Bella Barbie again. What else is new? Oh, nothing apart from the fact that Alice's hands were trembling as she did my hair because she was dreading today. We were both agitated. That was why I had permitted Alice to dress me up today as I had been too immersed in my worries and I had been hoping that the results that Alice's makeover would produce would be enough to distract me.

What disaster was today? Edward's trial. Despite Lily's confidence that our argument of Edward responding in self-defence would be enough to save Edward, I was still anxious. It had felt like that up until now fate had decided to act against us and how do you win against such a supreme opponent? Everyone had told me that I shouldn't worry, that Edward will be fine but how could I ignore the doubt and fret in their own voices? The stress I could detect in them only added to my own burden.

Everyone had reminded me again and again that we had all done everything in our power to help Edward and that there was nothing more I could do but watch the trial and hope that things went in his favour, or maybe it would be more appropriate for me to say in my favour as Edward was still marching on with his 'I-DESERVE-TO-BE-PUNISHED' campaign and he refused to share the same hope as me.

I suppose I should be glad that Edward hasn't begged the officers to hang him yet. With his current attitude, I wouldn't find that at all surprising, just heart-breaking. Although the last time he had started whining about how much he didn't want a lawyer, I was about two seconds away from strangling him myself. I mean, how can he not see how much his suffering is tormenting me?

"Okay, Bella, all done" Alice trilled in a manner that was unlike her usually chirpy demeanour.

I stood up, not bothering to even glance in the mirror. What was the point? I had only agreed to allow Alice to dress me as a distraction and all I had been thinking of this entire time was of what could happen in today's trial. Alice could make me look like a clown caught in the rain and it still wouldn't be enough to distract me, surprisingly, Alice made no attempt to steer me back to the mirror to gaze at her work, instead she was just staring into space as though she were deep in thought about something. That made the two of us then.

I decided then that the best thing for me to do right now would be to leave the room so that both Alice and me could be alone with our own thoughts. However, I took only a step towards the door when Alice called my attention again.

"Bella, do you really want to go to the trial?" Alice asked.

Her question confused me. Why wouldn't I want to go?

"Of course, Alice, it's Edward's trial today. Where else would I want to go?" I replied.

"No, I meant that do you really think you would be able to bear just sitting there and watching all the tension?" Alice enquired.

"I don't know Alice. But what I do know is that there is absolutely no way on Earth that I would be able to stand just sitting at home, not knowing what is happening" I answered.

"I suppose that does make sense. It's just that I've been thinking and the more I think the less I want to go" Alice informed me.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"I mean, Bella that I don't want to be there if the verdict turns out…not how we want it" Alice almost whispered at the end.

My eyes widened in despair as I realised the meaning behind her words and all too soon, it suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe. Alice heard my silence and whipped her head around to stare at me and her grey eyes widened in alarm, and then her small arms were around me as she cried

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I shouldn't have said any of that, it was stupid of me. Of course Edward will be released, he has to be. I'm so sorry Bella, I didn't mean any of that" Alice cried desperately.

"It's alright, Alice. You have nothing to feel guilty about, I was thinking about the same thing all day long no matter how much I didn't want to think about it" I reassured her in a hoarse voice, hoarse because it was only a minute ago that I remembered how to breathe.

"I'm sorry Bella, I was being selfish, and I will go to the trial. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me" Alice apologised which made me feel terrible that Alice felt so guilty for merely expressing her own worries out loud.

"Alice, please stop apologising. You don't have to come to the trial especially for me" I notified her, although it would be a big comfort to have her there with me.

"Shut up Bella. Of course I'm going to come. Jack the Ripper wouldn't be able to stop me" Alice snapped fiercely.

I opened my mouth, about to retaliate but Alice obviously sensing my desire to continue arguing just set her jaw, grabbed my hand, and marched us out of her bedroom, continuing to drag me down the stairs behind her as though I was incapable of walking down the stairs myself. Although even if she did allow me to descend the stairs on my own, I would still trip a million times before I actually reached the bottom.

Jasper, Emmet, and Rosalie were already waiting outside for us, Jasper and Rosalie standing by their BMW convertible, of course. When they all saw me and Alice approaching them, Jasper and Rosalie slid inside their car whilst Alice and I entered Emmet's jeep. Alice and I had both agreed that it would be better to just arrive in the same car as we would both be spending the majority of the day together anyway.

The car ride was spent in total silence. All three of us were much too nervous to make any conversation. Even Emmet was silence for the first time in living memory. We arrived at the court and I could feel my breathing hitch in my air passages. I lingered in the car for a couple of moments to take long, shallow breaths to help steady myself. When I was at least half sure that I was composed enough to enter the court room, you know, composed enough not to run back out of the room, hyperventilating.

I finally threw open the passenger door and followed Emmet and Alice into the court room. We all filed in and found seats next to where Jasper and Rosalie were already sitting. This should have been the point where we finally made some attempt at dialogue instead of just staring straight ahead in silence. But I knew that even if anyone did try to speak to me, I probably wouldn't respond as I was too worried and anxious to concentrate on anything but the time that was ticking away without me seeing Edward's face.

Then finally, two officers entered the room with a handcuffed Edward in between in them. My eyes were glued to his god-like face. He looked so drained and vulnerable; he still appeared as though he had been deprived of proper sleep and nutrition for days, or even weeks. His bronze hair that was always in disarray was now more untidy and tousled than ever, there were dark, purple shadows beneath his brilliant green eyes, and his green eyes, though still brilliant were now holding a most sad and depressed expression.

I was so focused on him that I hadn't noticed the judge and jury take their seats, nor Lily and the prosecutor enter the room and take their assigned places, I didn't notice the loud babble that filled the room as all the citizens of Forks took their seats. I didn't notice any of this. But I did notice the sound of the judge's voice calling "Silence in the court, the trial is about to commence" and as soon as those words reached my ears, my blood seemed to turn to ice in my veins whilst my heart sped up.

**Okay, guys, I know that was short and I know this chapter wasn't actually about the trial, but this is how the story flows and is what appeared on the screen as I let my imagination take control. I can't make the story go any differently; this is how it has to be, so don't get too angry that nothing much happened. Just review and tell me what you thought of the quality of this chapter. **


	17. Chapter 17

**I am so sorry for the late update, all of my teachers are trying to drown me in coursework and homework, plus I was kind of scared to write this chapter. Well here goes everything! (I'm not exactly sure how that makes sense either). Review please.**

**Chapter 17**

EPOV

I entered the court room, my already slow pace slowing further as I felt the eyes of the citizens of Forks boring into the back of my head. It was my trial today. I dwelled on this fact as I walked and I heard the officer by my side sigh impatiently at my sedate speed. I had to resist the urge to glare at him. However, I considered glaring at him for the purpose of a distraction from all the stares. I was certain that nearly the whole of Forks must be here to witness my trial.

I listened to the prosecution's opening argument without really hearing it at all. I just wished at this moment more than anything that I had never been born. It was only when my lawyer, Lily, presented an argument that caught my attention. It was when Lily presented her strongest defence that my head snapped up to stare at her.

"Ladies and gentleman of the jury I would like to argue that Edward Mason cannot be convicted guilty of this crime as he acted only out of self-defence. I have been made aware that John Mason had been abusing his son and to prove this I would like to call Edward Mason to the stand and question him" Lily announced professionally, authority colouring every syllable of hers.

I gulped nervously as I watched Lily deliberate on what she planned on asking me. How did she know that about my father? The only person I had told about this was Bella. Bella. My head snapped up and my eyes broke away from my shoes where they had been fixed on, as they roved the room. I finally found who I was looking for as my eyes connected with a pair of chocolate brown eyes. I knew that she could sense my fury at her as she bowed her head.

Why? Why did Bella inform Lily of everything I had confessed to her? I had trusted her and had only told her the truth because she had pleaded with me for it. She knew that I deserved to be punished and yet she was endeavouring to bail me out. I was furious but I felt not only anger at her but hurt that she had acquired the truth out of me and then passed it on to a second party. I glared at Bella, willing her to lift her head and meet my eyes.

She finally obliged and her eyes were nervous and frightened as she timidly lifted her head to meet my eyes. I continued to glare at her and she seemed to flinch as she saw the anger in me. However, I was forced to tear my eyes away from her as Lily finally asked me her first question.

"Edward, how long had your father abused you?" Lily asked me, staring at my face evenly and I could read the warning in her eyes; she was commanding me without any words to tell the truth and hold nothing back at all.

I took a deep breath as I prepared to do the one thing I had been so absolved on not to do for all these years.

"Years, ever since I had been a child" I answered audibly and the tension and shock in the room was almost tangible.

"Would you happen to know why he was so violent towards you?" she enquired.

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to maintain my composure. I will not lose control like I did on the funeral. I was determined not to do that.

"He was nearly always so drunk, he got violent when he got drunk mainly. He always had a bad temper and it got worse when he was drunk. He didn't need to be provoked in order to start…on us" I replied, devoid of any emotion.

I had told the truth, holding nothing back, surely that was more than enough of what she could get out of me. I had been awaiting this trial in anticipation for days now and now that it was finally here, I just wanted it to end, regardless of what the verdict might be.

"What do you mean by 'us', Edward? Did your father abuse your mother too?" Lily queried shrewdly.

"Yeah. He hurt my mother too" I answered and then after a moment's thoughts in which something altered my carefully composed demeanour I added: "He always hurt my mother. He would hit her for as long as he possibly could, it was only when I was old enough to stand up to him, he would stop hurting her, but only when I wasn't in the room. He didn't care about how much he hurt her" I explained, not even bothering to disguise the contempt and hatred in my voice.

When I had stepped into the court today, I had entered deciding that I would mask all emotion in my voice, my face, even in my stance. I had succeeded in that up until Lily had asked about my father's treatment of my mother. When Lily had asked that particular question, something had just snapped inside me, causing my composed mask to crumble into dust and I could feel the hatred for my father pulse within me. It was then that I had made a new decision; I wanted the whole world to realise what a git my father was and how horribly he treated my mother. I didn't care what happened to me now; I no longer cared if I got punished or not now. All I wanted now was for justice to be brought on my father.

Just because he was no longer living, it did not mean that he should not be punished for his barbaric behaviour towards my mom. I now wanted the whole world to know what a monster he was. It was these thoughts that had swirled in my head that had caused me to reveal the truth about my father with such contempt in my voice.

Lily beamed triumphantly at me for no apparent reason before moving on to make her next enquiry.

"Would you please tell the court exactly what happened that night?" Lily commanded me.

I gulped again nervously. I knew that I would have to muster every ounce of courage within me to relate that night without breaking down or giving in to the wave of emotion that was threatening to drown me. If I wanted to succeed in bringing the deceased John Mason to justice, I will have to recount that night and this time there would be no Bella to comfort me. As this realisation struck, my eyes inadvertently reconnected with Bella's.

Her brown eyes were wet with tears as she tried to smile encouragingly at me. When her smile turned out to be a somewhat mangled grimace as she struggled to contain her tears, she nodded slightly, that unnameable but familiar emotion blazing in her eyes. I couldn't help but wonder once again, could that emotion I saw in her eyes possible be love? But whatever emotion it was in her eyes, I found myself taking strength in it as I prepared myself to recollect that disastrous night.

"Well, I came home and I heard some noises like something was being thrown about so I went inside and I saw my mother on the floor looking scared and hurt with my father standing over looking like he was about to hit her again. So I told him to leave her alone and we got into an argument when he was about to hit my mother again so I pulled him away and he had a glass alcohol bottle and was…well, it looked like he was about to hit me so I picked up a piece of glass that was lying nearby and held it up when he ran forwards, he didn't see it in time and by the time he did…it was too late" I finally stopped, the lump in my throat too huge for me to continue.

Lily smiled approvingly at me. But then the prosecutor stood up.

"Where were you before you arrived home?" he demanded.

"I-I had been out with a friend" I answered honestly, remembering the magical afternoon I had spent with Bella in the rain.

"Which friend is this?" he asked whilst Lily frowned quite noticeably.

"Bella Swan" I answered quietly, hoping with all of my heart that he did not plan on calling Bella to the stand.

"Can Bella Swan please step forward to the stand?" the prosecutor called.

My eyes sought Bella's chocolate orbs and I found them successfully. She met my eyes timidly without any anger or disgust like I had expected. I gazed into her eyes apologetically, hoping that she could see the regret in my eyes.

"Miss Swan, can you please tell us if what Mr Mason says is true?" the prosecutor enquired of Bella.

"He was with me" Bella replied in her quiet but clear voice.

"Your honour, I hardly see how any of this is relevant" Lily objected.

"Objection sustained" the judge declared.

The prosecutor frowned slightly but moved onto asking Bella another question: "Miss Swan, how long have you known Mr Mason?"

Bella looked nervous as she answered "A while"

"And would you say if he has ever appeared short-tempered, aggressive or anything of the sort?" the prosecutor questioned.

"Edward isn't anything like that" Bella responded, her chin lifting slightly higher as she continued "He's always been really gentle, calm, and sweet and I couldn't ever imagine him hurting anyone intentionally, he has a heart of gold" Bella declared sincerely, her eyes locking with mine and not wavering once.

I held her gaze with awe. Her words meaning a lot more to me than I ever thought they could. What did that mean?

"Okay Miss Swan, you may go, thank you" the prosecutor told Bella.

The prosecutor then turned to me, studying my face with his black, raven-like eyes.

"Mr Mason, how long do you believe your father had been abusing your mother?" the prosecutor asked.

"For as long as I can remember" I answered honestly.

"I would like to call Elizabeth Mason to the stand" the prosecutor called.

My head whirled around to watch my mother approach nervously. She looked even worse than she had at the funeral, her eyes now looking red and swollen as though she had been weeping for days without any break in between. She walked with her back hunched, her eyes seeming to be permanently glued to the floor.

"How long had you been married to John Mason?" the prosecutor asked.

My mother seemed to flinch at the sound of his voice. I wanted to reach out and hug her, and tell her that everything would be alright but I knew that that was impossible right now.

"Seventeen years" mom answered her head down and her voice hushed.

"When did he start abusing you?" he asked.

Mom seemed to start at his question and her head snapped up. Her eyes were wide and manic-looking. It seemed to me that her health had deteriorated more than ever since that night.

"He loved me. I know he did. He never meant to hurt me. He was always a sweet man. I loved him and he loved me. We would've stayed together forever if it weren't him" she pointed at me, her tone pure venom.

I could feel the hurt on my face as well as in my heart. There was no sign on her face at all that she saw the human she pointed accusingly at was her son. I knew by the hatred in her wide manic-looking eyes that she didn't see me as her son, but only as the person who murdered her beloved husband.

I closed my eyes as I felt the familiar emotions a specific memory wrought in me. I thought back to the last time Elizabeth Mason had ever acted like a mother to me.

'_The five year old boy squirmed in his bed. The covers a tangled mess around his small form, although he was thin, he was tall for an average five year old. The boy was having a nightmare and as he tossed and turned, he suddenly fell out of his bed onto his wooden floor, landing hard on his back whilst an audible thud sounded throughout the house. The boy began to whimper as he felt a throb in his wrist. _

_A small, slight, dark-haired woman scurried into the room having heard the thud. She was so small and petite that she resembled a child more than an adult. Her green eyes were wide with worry as she stumbled into the room, only to see her young son on the floor whimpering. She said nothing, but instantly ran forward to cradle the boy in her arms, murmuring reassuring whispers into his ear, attempting to soothe him. The small boy clung to her as she stroked his bronze hair. She lifted the boy into her arms even though he was beginning to get too heavy for her. She struggled slightly under his weight but eventually gained her balance and made her way out of the room._

_The entire house was in darkness. The woman had been waiting for her husband despite the lateness of the hour and her husband had yet to return from the pub. Why she waited in the darkness was a mystery. The young boy buried his head into his mother's chest, closing his green eyes tightly so that he wouldn't have to see the darkness. The dark frightened him; it gave him nightmares of things lunging out from the darkness to get him. _

_When the boy finally felt his mother sit down on the big armchair in their living room he lifted his head from his mother's chest and peered about him and instantly regretted that. He could only see the darkness and it scared him. _

"_Mommy, please switch on the light, it's too dark, I'm scared"_

"_Please don't beg me to switch on the light, Edward" the woman requested, laying her chin on top of her son's untidy bronze hair. _

"_Why do you like the dark, mommy? Dark is scary" the boy whimpered._

"_Do you want me to sing to you, my mini angel?" the woman asked, kissing the top of his head, deliberately evading his question. _

"_Please mommy" the boy begged. He loved it when his mom sang to him, she had a beautiful voice and it always soothed him. _

_The woman crooned a sweet melody into his ear, her lovely voice making the melody even sweeter. The boy nuzzled his head into her shoulder, his green eyes staring up at his mother with awestruck admiration. He respected and loved her more than anything; she had always been there when he needed her. He knew that she was the best mother a boy could ever hope for. _

_The woman had ceased singing and the boy gazed up at her, feeling wonder. _

"_Mom, why didn't you become a singer? You would have been famous, you got such a pretty voice, like an angel" the boy said almost reverently, although his sincerity rang out in every word. _

_The woman laughed a carefree laugh. A mother's laugh. A laugh that a mother would release when realising the unintentional silliness of their child that was unacceptable and yet adoring at the same time. You could see the love and adoration in her eyes and face when she gazed upon her only son. _

"_I can see you're going to be a right gentleman when you're older, Edward. The ladies will have a tough time keeping their hands off my son" the woman laughed. _

_The boy waited patiently for his mother to answer his question. He gazed up at his mother with his sparkling green eyes. The woman gazed back, her face showing love, adoration, and pride as she gazed into her son's sparkling green eyes that were an exact match of her own green eyes. _

"_I could have been a singer and that was what I had wanted to be" the woman admitted wistfully, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. _

"_I WAS going to be a singer. It was my dream but then I met your father and I wanted different things. I loved him and I wanted to be with him no matter what I had to give up" the woman continued, seeming to talk more to herself than the boy on her lap. _

"_But mommy, you could have been a singer and be with dad" the boy argued. _

_The woman smiled patiently at her son. Understanding and wisdom lining her face whilst her eyes betrayed a lonely sadness. _

"_I like it better when there's no dad around. I like it when it's just you and me" the boy declared, gazing up at his mother whilst his exhaustion made him unconsciously lean his head back onto his mother's shoulder. _

_The woman's eyes still portrayed that lonely sadness but her face softened as she gazed at her son maternally, in a way that made an outside observer believe that she was never going to let her beloved son escape her arms. The emotion on her face was so powerful that anyone would be forced to admire her. _

_She leaned down as her son yawned hugely as her hair fell forward on her left side, tickling the boy's cheek slightly, but he liked it as it comforted him to know that the hair belonged to his mom who was still by his side, she leaned down and whispered into her son's ear:_

"_I like it better when it's just the two of us as well"._

_The boy smiled as his mother switched on a lamp that threw its light straight downwards upon the boy and his mother. The woman leaned down again, her hair falling the same way as before and this time she whispered into his ear:_

"_You're my son, Edward and I love you, which is why I have switched on the lamp for you, I don't want you to be scared. But Edward, just remember, there is nothing to fear in the darkness, but there is more to fear in the light because unlike the darkness, light can show you everything, even the stuff you don't want to see, whereas the darkness can hide your troubles and fears from your eyes"_

_The boy had now fallen asleep. But not without hearing those puzzling words from his mother nor did he miss the expression on her face as she said this. It was the saddest expression he had ever seen and he wished that he had been dreaming that he ever saw such an expression on his beloved mother's face.' _

I had never forgotten that night. It was the last time Elizabeth Mason had ever cradled her son so lovingly. After that I had had to look after her. Her health had gotten worse and worse by the time I had become six. I was then the one who had had to sing to her to calm her down. I had always felt since that night when I was five years old that I had owed my mother a debt, that night when I had been five years old, she had cared for me so lovingly and protectively and I felt that I owed her the same.

Now when I looked at her face, contorted with hate as she accused her son of murder, I realised that my debt was not enough to look after her. Elizabeth Mason was now so ill that she no longer realised she had a son. My heart broke as I realised that I could no longer look after her. And she was unable to look after me and that was never going to change. I just had never been willing to let go of my mommy.

**I think this is the longest chapter I have ever written. Ten pages in word is no joke, I'm telling you. I loved writing the flashback part, especially; I found it very sweet and kind of sad. I hope you all thought that as well, because sweet was what I had been going for, the flashback part that is. Do you think that was sweet? Did I mess up the trial bit? Review please and tell me. **


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you for all the reviews. A lot of you have been clamouring me as to when Edward is going to realise he loves Bella. All I can say is patience people. He will realise in time, it's more of a gradual thing, I hope you all have noticed that Bella has the same effect on Edward as he has on her, but whereas Bella knows she loves Edward, Edward is clueless, although in past chapters he is beginning to realise. Anyway, commencing chapter 18…now!**

**Chapter 18**

BPOV

I was still in shock as I exited the court room with Alice. I still couldn't make myself believe Elizabeth's behaviour towards her son during the trial. Edward's trial had been prolonged to next week. Fantastic. I now had more nights to spend fretting over Edward's trial. What was even more fantastic was that I also had Elizabeth Mason's behaviour to ponder about.

"Bella, are you alright?" Alice asked concernedly.

"No I'm not alright, Alice. Edward is mad at me, his mother is obviously mad at him to the point where she wants him to get sentenced to life imprisonment. Lily is going mad at the fact that we don't have enough solid evidence and that his mother's testimony has made everything so much worse, and I'm just mad at life, fate and everything that has led to this" I ranted furiously.

I received only silence in response as I calmed down and I began to feel ashamed of my outburst at Alice when she was only being the kind friend that she is. I peeked through my curtain of hair to see Alice staring straight ahead, her eyes focused on something I couldn't see.

"Alice, I'm so sorry for snapping at you, I-"I began to apologise but Alice cut me off, I was starting to worry that this was becoming a bad habit of hers.

"Bella, it's okay. I don't even know why you are apologising. Everyone needs a good rant now and then" Alice appeased me. I sighed in relief that she wasn't mad at me. We both lapsed into comfortable silence as we delved into our own thoughts.

"Bella, I've been wondering about Elizabeth" Alice said randomly.

"Me too" I admitted. "I just can't understand why Elizabeth is testifying against Edward. I mean he is her son, he's the only family she has left now; you would think that she would be more determined than anyone else to get her son a bail."

"Maybe Edward never had as good a relationship with his mother as we always thought" Alice suggested.

"No, I don't think that's the case. The way Edward always talked about his mother and worried about her just showed how much he loved her" I contradicted.

"None of this makes any sense. Edward had told the court that his father had abused both him and his mother but Elizabeth says that John Mason had loved her and had never hurt her. They can't both be telling the truth. One of them must be lying" Alice perceived.

"Edward doesn't lie" I stated curtly.

"Are you saying then that Elizabeth is lying?" Alice asked rather sharply obviously reacting to my tone.

"No. But Edward doesn't lie. He never told me anything about any of this until I forced it out of him and even then I could tell how much it hurt him to have to tell me everything. If you had heard the truth from him, Alice, you would believe him too" I explained in a tight voice, heat creeping into my tone.

"You think that I don't believe Edward, Bella?" Alice questioned angrily.

"You doubt him and that's as bad as calling him a liar in my books" I snapped.

"You're in love with him, Bella even though it's become clear that he hid a lot of things from you. He kept a lot of things about himself from you and you're telling me that after realising this, your trust has never wobbled once at all" Alice argued, her anger matching mine.

"Alice, you know as well as I do that all of us knew that Edward had always been the most secretive of us all and that he had never made any promises to be truthful to us, so you can't hold that against him. Do you think that you would've kept his secret if he had told you everything? No you wouldn't have and that was why he never told us anything" I explicated, my irritation leaking into every word.

"Well maybe he should have told someone and then his dad would've been sorted out and all of this could have been avoided. If that's Edward's reasoning then I think that it's a rather selfish reasoning." Alice retorted.

I gaped at her. One of my best friends was practically calling the love of my life a selfish liar. She knew Edward just as well as me. So how could she possibly mistrust Edward when he was one of the purest human beings ever? Anger shook my entire form as I stared at Alice.

"Edward has done nothing wrong, Alice. Doubt him all you want but I will stick by his side forever and nothing is ever going to pull me away because I trust him which is more than I can say for some people" I snarled, glaring at Alice meaningfully.

"You're in love with him Bella. Of course you won't let him go. But just say that he was actually guilty, would you still be on his side? You don't know for sure, we didn't know anything so how can you be so sure that he's not guilty. How can you be loyal to him when you don't know for sure?" Alice queried heatedly.

"Why don't you imagine that it was Jasper in that jail cell? Then ask yourself that, Alice. You act like you know everything, like you're always right. It drives me crazy and sometimes I wonder why I even put up with you, you never listen to me and you never give a damn about what I want because you only care about your own stupid things like your petty shopping trips. Well, guess what Alice, you're not always right, especially not this time" I shouted at her, not even bothering to lower my voice. I was angry and I let the words escape my mouth igonoring the fact that I might regret the words later.

I turned away from her and stalked off towards Emmet's jeep where he was waiting for Rosalie, not even glancing back to see Alice's expression. I didn't want to sit in the same car as Alice, childish as it might sound but she had hurt me more than she would ever know or understand. I had fought with my one of my best friends. I didn't want to lose any of my friends when I had already lost Edward (temporarily, I hope) but Alice had failed me. I had counted on her to be there for me and instead she had scorned at my trust in Edward and I don't think that I could ever forgive her for that.

Emmet looked surprised to see me approaching his car but something in my expression must have caused him to decide against asking me any questions. I opened the door and slid into the back of the car without a word to Emmet. Rosalie arrived and with a peck on Emmet's cheek, she opened the passenger door and she started when she saw me.

"Bella, weren't you going to ride home with Jasper and Alice?" Rosalie enquired.

Oh why oh why couldn't she have followed her boyfriend's lead and not ask me any questions. I wasn't in the mood to talk, I just wanted to curl up in a ball in my bed and cry. But crying wasn't going to help me, or Edward. Alice might not believe that Edward was going to win this trial but I did, I would see to it that Edward would be proved innocent even if I had to find the evidence myself. It was then in that split second that that thought crossed my mind that I made my decision.

"I don't have time for explanations Rosalie. I need to see Edward so get Emmet to start the car quickly and get me to Edward. Now" I commanded.

Rosalie looked taken aback my aggressive tone but the argument with Alice had ruined my mood. Not that Edward's trial had really lifted my mood in the first place but the disagreement with Alice had just made me so angry that I found that I couldn't talk without my words coming out irritated.

Rosalie said nothing but just turned her attention to a conversation she was having with Emmet about cars. I could see from the corner of my eye the sly glances Emmet and Rosalie were throwing at me at regular intervals during the car journey but I generally ignored them as I stared out the window. Alice's doubts and suspicions had only made me more determined that Edward was innocent and that he should leave jail.

Emmet stopped the car and I hopped out.

"Bella is it alright if we come or do you want to speak to Edward alone?" Emmet asked me as he rolled down his window and stuck his head out.

"I'd like to speak to Edward alone if that's alright" I answered trying to smile in an attempt to make up for my previous rude behaviour to them but my smile came out somewhat deformed. It seemed that I was having a lot of trouble at smiling these days.

"Alright then, Bella you know that if you ever want to talk or anything then we'll always be right here if you need us" Emmet notified me sincerely, his expression for once quite sombre.

'_Not all of you are here for me' _I couldn't help think to myself as Alice's earlier words echoed in my ear for the second time that afternoon. I felt a lump constrict my throat and even after swallowing a couple of times, I found that I still couldn't dislodge the lump enough to speak so I merely nodded to Emmet in acknowledgement of his kind, and heartfelt gesture.

"Alright then Bella, see you later" Emmet waved to me as Rosalie smiled at me. I threw them a small wave as I walked into the station.

Edward was sitting on the floor of his cell, staring blankly at the opposite wall. I coughed quietly to attract his attention. His head swivelled around to me and he smiled, albeit quite sadly but it was a relief to know that he was no longer angry at me.

"Hello" Edward greeted me softly.

"Hi"

We stared awkwardly at each other for a couple of minutes. I was wondering how to start the conversation that I came here for when Edward took that matter out of my hands by asking:

"So I suppose you came to ask about my mother's testimony?" Edward gazed at me knowingly.

"How did you know?" I mumbled.

"It wouldn't be much of a surprise to me if that was the question on the minds every single citizen of Forks. I'm probably the main subject of the gossip in the streets" Edward replied bitterly.

"I don't want to know for gossip's sake" I murmured quietly.

"I know Bella, I know." Edward agreed.

There was a long pause following Edward's last words. When it became evident that Edward wasn't going to say anything, I enquired:

"So are you going to answer my questions?"

"I can hardly read my mother's mind, Bella" Edward replied resignedly.

"You know that's not what I meant. You might know the reason why she…behaved that way" I responded hesitantly. I didn't want to mention how Elizabeth Mason acted as though she didn't even recall that it was her son she was accusing of murder.

"She hates me. She hates me for murdering her husband who supposedly loved her, although he had a funny way of showing his affections" Edward stated sourly.

"You said your father-"I began but Edward cut me off

"He's not my father. He may have had some part in my birth but I have never and never will think of him as my father. He wasn't even a human being as far I'm concerned" Edward growled furiously.

"Fine then, he's not your father" I sighed exasperatedly. I had had enough of disagreeable friends. Well, Edward I wouldn't really consider a friend, just the godlike angel I pine after.

"What's wrong? Bella, you seem upset about something" Edward asked.

Well, my best friend thinks that the love of my life is a selfish liar and I am no longer speaking to her because of the argument we had about that and the subject of the argument happenes to be in a jail cell with the possibility of life imprisonment or something worse hanging over his head. Yeah, I'm fine, I mean what could I possibly be upset about?

I did not however say all of that to Edward. Instead I just responded with a simple lie: "I'm fine"

Edward didn't look like be believed me at all. But before he could open his mouth to argue, I asked him "Edward, are you going to tell me what is going on with your mother or not?"

"I would really prefer it if you would just let it go, Bella" Edward sighed.

"Well, I prefer not to let it go so you might as well save your breath and answer my questions" I insisted.

"Fine. My mother is ill. Not just ill but mentally ill. I know I probably should've taken her to a doctor or something but you have to understand that she's been ill for most of my life. Since my childhood, I'd always taken care of her; I had begun to believe that that was just how she is." Edward confessed, pausing now to peer at my facial expression.

I kept my face smooth and composed when in fact my heart bled with sympathy for him.

"She was always nervous both when John was around and when he was not. But all the time even when he hit her and shouted at her and terrified her to death, she always insisted that he loved her. Bullshit in my opinion. But no matter what I told her, she always insisted that he loved her and she would always ignore my constant pleas with her to leave him, I had to endure the abuse throughout my childhood only for her sake. I hated John but I loved my mom and I couldn't leave her to fend for herself so I stayed and protected her as best as I could. I eventually realised when I got older that we couldn't go on living in the same way, but the mere thought of leaving John would send my mother into hysterics" Edward confessed, his eyes glazing over as he stared straight ahead as though he were staring at the past.

Edward looked up at me then and his eyes were so anguished that I found my eyes were brimming with tears just seeing the anguish in his eyes hurt him.

"I know I don't have any excuse for not acting differently. But no one would understand because taking my mother away from John would literally kill her." Edward informed me, his eyes pleading for me to understand.

He looked away before I was even able to collect my thoughts together.

"Once when I was sixteen, I had had enough of John so I ran upstairs and began to pack both mine and my mom's stuff. I told her that we were leaving. She went into hysterics and wouldn't let me pack her bags. She-"Edward stopped abruptly. His whole form freezing.

"What? What happened?" I whispered, a feeling of foreboding making me dread the answer for no apparent reason.

"She found a knife and slit her wrist" Edward whispered.

I gasped. I couldn't help it.

Edward continued, not looking at me but staring straight ahead at the opposite wall.

"I had to take her to the hospital. She was losing so much blood. The nurses were asking me questions about how it had happened. I wanted to say that it was that entire bastard's fault but I saw my mother looking so pale. Death-white. And I…I didn't want to lose her and I knew how close I had come to just that just by telling her to leave her husband. She had slit her wrist just because I told her to leave him. How could I get John arrested knowing what she would do if that happened?" Edward whispered.

"I had really wanted to leave this town, leave that vile…animal behind and go far, far away but I knew leaving her husband would kill my mother and it would kill me if I had to leave her. There was no way on Earth I could leave my mom to fend for herself so I stayed in Forks, looking after her, making sure no one suspected anything about John. I didn't do it for him, I couldn't care less about him, I did it for my mom, you see" Edward confessed.

By now the tears were flowing freely down my cheeks.

"I love her and now she hates me" Edward whispered in a broken voice.

"She doesn't Edward. You're her son, she can't hate you" I murmured to Edward, endeavouring to reassure him in any way I can.

"But don't you see, Bella? John's death is slowly killing her. Her health has gotten worse, so much so that she doesn't even realise I'm her son. I could see it in her eyes, she doesn't see me as her son, and all she knows now is that her husband is dead and that I'm the reason for his death" Edward explicated dejectedly.

"Oh Edward, I'm so sorry" I whispered. I wasn't just apologising for the misery that he had had to endure during his life and I knew that he knew it too.

"I have to go now but I'll come back soon. I promise, bye" I murmured as I turned to make my exit but I was stopped by the sound of Edward's beseeching voice.

"Please look after my mom, Bella. She's the only family I've ever had and ever will have" Edward requested, tears in his eyes.

I nodded and then I turned around and fled the station, my heart in my throat as the tears streaked down my face.

**How was that? I'm happy with how the lengths of the chapters are getting longer. I'm sorry if you think that Elizabeth is cropping up too much recently but I promise you that she is relevant in this story. She may not be a main character but she still has a major role to play. Now review please and let me know how soon you want the next chapter, I might just listen if I get enough reviews begging me for more.**


	19. Chapter 19

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

**That was me squealing my head off as I saw that I now have over 100 reviews! You guys are awesomeness personified and because you all have made me so happy, I made time to give you this update as soon as was humanly possible for me. Oh yeah before I commence chapter 19, I do not own twilight, blah blah blah; don't make me say the rest or I shall cry. Now here is chapter 19 ready for you extra early!**

**Chapter 19**

BPOV

I hurried out of the station and over to where Rosalie and Emmet were waiting in their car. I climbed in without even bothering to attempt to conceal the tears that were streaming down my face freely. Emmet and Rosalie glanced at me worriedly before turning to each other to communicate wordlessly. They seemed to have come to a silent mutual agreement to neglect any commentary on my tears. I felt relief upon that as Emmet started the car. A peaceful silence fell inside the car like a mist. That was until Emmet decided to go ruin it.

"So Bella we heard from Jasper about your fight with Alice" Emmet informed me.

Rosalie threw a surreptitious glare at Emmet that did not go unnoticed by me. I joined in with Rosalie and glared at Emmet. However, Emmet unfortunately was not deterred by mine and Rosalie's combined murderous glares for he continued on to say:

"Alice feels bad about all of this, Bella" Emmet notified me seriously, staring straight ahead at the road.

"And do I look like I'm skipping in a meadow full of daisies?" I retorted.

"Well, if both of you feel so bad about all of this, why don't you both just stop fighting?" Emmet queried as though he were talking about the most ludicrous situation he had ever heard of.

"It's not as simple as that, Emmet" I sighed.

"Well. What's so complicated about it then?" Emmet retaliated.

I was stumped by that one as I hadn't anticipated such a sharp response from Emmet of all people. He was normally so laidback and easy-going about even the most serious matters so it was a surprise to hear him contradict me so forcefully. Rosalie gave up trying to intimidate Emmet into silence through fierce glares and instead turned to me.

"Bella, Emmet has a point. There is nothing at all complicated here, unless you count yours and Alice's pride which let's face it always complicates everything" Rosalie interjected, looking at me with her blue eyes patiently as though I were some five year old crying over her dropped ice-cream.

"What pride? I'm not proud" I mumbled.

"Right. If that's the case then what's stopping you from marching up to Alice right now and apologising yourself" Rosalie countered.

I had no answer and as my silence filled the car, Rosalie grinned triumphantly at me and I saw Emmet smirking in the rear view mirror. I scowled as my mind failed to conjure up a satisfying retort. As I saw Rosalie open her mouth to continue her point, I quickly cut her off:

"Emmet, can you please drive me to Elizabeth Mason's house?" I requested of Emmet.

Emmet looked surprised as he replied "I don't know where she lives. Her house is a mess so she had to move out but I don't know where the hell she is staying now"

"Do you know if there is any way I might be able to contact her?" I asked somewhat desperately.

"Well, Esme might know. She's been trying to help Elizabeth out ever since Edward landed in jail. She's been visiting her, dropping off food, giving her company, you know, that sort of stuff" Emmet answered, eyeing me suspiciously.

"What do you want with Elizabeth Mason anyway?" Emmet demanded.

"I just need to ask her some questions" I answered.

"Well, I think Esme has her address so you should ask her" Emmet replied.

I nodded and turned to stare out off the car window as I let my thoughts swirl. I needed to know why Elizabeth had behaved that way towards her own son. I had already questioned Edward but his answers only left me brooding even more. I had a lot of questions that I was sure only Elizabeth Mason had the answers to. I just hoped that she was going to give me the answers. And that she was sane enough not to hurt me. I knew now that she was mentally ill and honestly, that did make me feel a little bit more than just plain nervous, but not nervous enough to not want to approach the woman and demand answers.

Emmet cut off the engine which caused me to jump out of my reverie. I saw that we had now arrived at the Cullen's white, glass house. I opened the car door, slammed it shut and almost ran all the way to the front door. I rang the door bell and uttered a silent prayer that Alice would not open the door nor collide with me during the time that I would spend here. I just didn't think that I had the courage to face her yet.

I had forgotten about Emmet and Rosalie in my haste to see Esme and then get out of here. But I suddenly remembered them when Emmet appeared by my side and unlocked the front door with his own house key.

"Edward on your mind so much these days that you forgot about me, huh?" Emmet asked teasingly, whilst waggling his eyebrows at me.

He laughed as I smiled apologetically at him which was my wordless assent.

"Jeez, you have it bad, Bells" Rosalie laughed.

"Ahh, young love" Emmet said in a faux dreamy sigh upon which I punched him on the arm.

Emmet made quite a show of faking pain at a non-existent bruise that I supposedly gave him, which caused all three of us to erupt into bursts of laughter. However, my laughter soon shrivelled up as I walked into the living room and saw Alice sitting on one of the couches, staring into space.

She looked up upon our noisy arrival and her eyes widened as she saw me.

"Emmet, let's go work on that car in your garage" Rosalie suggested loudly, very subtly giving me and Alice some time alone.

"What car?" Emmet queried, not quick enough to pick up on Rosalie's plan.

"That car you were telling me about, Emmet" Rosalie replied slowly, as she grabbed Emmet's hand and dragged him out of the room.

"Oh, that car" I heard Emmet yell, finally catching onto Rosalie's scheme, as he stumbled down the hallway.

The front door slammed, leaving me and Alice alone in the awkward silence of the living room. Neither of us said anything. I looked down to my feet on the floor. Where was Esme? I would have to ask Alice if I ever wanted to get out of here without dying of embarrassment, plus if I asked Alice, then she would know that I didn't come here for her, that I had a life that I could live without her.

"I came here to see Esme" I stated, still looking at my shoes.

"She's not here right now" Alice told me quietly which was unusual for Alice, she was never quiet.

I looked up only to see Alice's grey eyes sparkling with tears. I have no idea who made the first move but in the next minute we were both hugging, squeezing each other to death as we sobbed our apologies.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I should never have doubted Edward." Alice wept.

"It's alright Alice. I let my love for Edward get the better of me. I overreacted" I disputed.

"But I doubted Edward. You were right, he would never lie, I mean he was the one who handed himself over to the police" Alice argued.

"You were both stupid drama queens, okay. Now don't get into another fight about who was the bigger idiot" Emmet boomed as he closed the front door behind him and walked in, passing the living room as he walked towards the kitchen.

"Emmet, you moron. You were supposed to leave them alone" Rosalie scolded him as she too walked into the house.

"I was hungry. I needed food and these two were taking too long. Do you want me to starve and die, Rosie?" Emmet replied innocently, however, that innocence was somewhat marred by the fact that he was stuffing his face with food from the fridge in a rather disgusting manner.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at him and turned to us as she enquired worriedly "That idiot didn't interrupt anything, did he?"

"Don't worry, Rose. Alice and I made up" I assured her.

"That's good then. I've had enough drama for one day" Rosalie exhaled gustily.

"So, Bella, why do you need to see Esme?" Alice asked, turning to me with a smile on her face.

I could feel myself smiling too. It felt a lot easier to be optimistic again now that Alice was my friend again.

"I need to know how to contact Elizabeth" I answered.

Alice's eyes lit up with surprise as she enquired "Well, that can be easily arranged but why the hell would you want to see Elizabeth?"

"I need some answers that only Elizabeth can give me"

"Okay, I'll be right back" Alice said as she whizzed out of the room.

"How that girl has so much energy, I'll never understand" I muttered.

"She's on drugs, last time I checked, she was on ecstasy" Emmet interjected, causing me and Rosalie to stare at him.

"Shut up Emmet. I'm not on ecstasy and if I ever do take it, it will be because of you seeing as you deal drugs" Alice snapped as she re-entered the room.

"What? I do not deal drugs. I am a model citizen" Emmet yelped.

"Yeah, that's why dad had had to bring you home from the station once for assault" Alice scoffed.

"I fell out of the tree. It's not my fault that there was an old lady walking past just as I fell and that she kicked up a big fuss just because I fell on top of her" Emmet argued defensively.

"Emmet, you kicked her shopping out of her hands and then tackled her, because of you, she got a bruised wrist and a broken ankle" Alice pointed out.

Rosalie and I turned to Emmet with wide eyes.

"Says her. I was trying to climb down, so I was swinging off one of the lower branches, it's not my fault that she walked past just as my leg swung out and that she was holding a load of shopping bags. My foot accidentally kicked at her arm and she screamed and dropped all of her shopping. She shouldn't have screamed otherwise that wouldn't have caught me by surprise and made me let go off the branch and fall on top of her" Emmet debated.

I tried to imagine an Emmet swinging off a branch as an old lady laden with shopping bags walked past. I couldn't stop the laughter that escaped me at the picture. Rosalie was stunned into silence for a moment but when I started laughing she too joined in. Alice's tinkling laugh also chimed in and Emmet glared at all of us.

"Didn't you all come here for a reason?" Emmet scowled bad-temperedly.

"Oh yeah, Bella, I got Elizabeth's address. Esme has an address book with all of her acquaintance's addresses and phone numbers" Alice informed me.

"Alice, you are the best. I don't know what I'd ever do without you" I said awestruck.

"I know I'm brilliant. Now come on Bella, let's go. We'll take my Porsche" Alice responded.

"Alice, it's okay, you don't have to come" I assured her.

"Bella, I will drive you there and come with you" Alice decided resolutely.

"Alice-"I began.

"Bella, I haven't been a very good friend to you today and I intend to make it up to you" Alice notified me solemnly.

"Alice-"I tried again but once again she let me get no further than her name.

"Bella, I know my name is beautiful but please don't wear it out. Now do you want to see Elizabeth or not?" Alice demanded in a voice that warded off any arguments.

I sighed resignedly. It was almost impossible to win an argument against Alice; she always got her way eventually.

"Fine, let's get this show on the road" I said, trying to work some enthusiasm into my voice, trying and failing.

Alice smirked at me as she led the way out of her house towards her yellow Porsche.

**Well, are you all satisfied? Or do you want more? I certainly hope so because this story is nowhere near the end. Review and you might just get lucky like this time and get an early update. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, everyone, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of reviews I got for the last chapter. But I've wanted to write this chapter almost since the moment I started writing this story. I have had the whole plot planned out since I started writing although I never write my story plots down anywhere because I then I would just then end up losing it so I just keep everything stored in my head. Anyway, here's chapter 20 and although there isn't any Edward in here please read it and love it because it is vital. Actually every word of this story is important but you get my drift (I think). Anyway, enough rambling on my part, on with the chapter.**

**Chapter 20**

We arrived at a small two storey house that looked almost deserted. All the curtains were drawn despite it only being late afternoon with the sun shining weakly, weakly but shining nonetheless. The door was painted a peeling red with an old-fashioned door knocker that looked untouched as though no one had visited the house for years, therefore the knocker not being used. It was silent.

"Alice, are you sure you got the right address?" I asked Alice, finding it very hard to believe that anyone would want to live in such a place.

"Positive. You forget Bella that Elizabeth only just moved in and with the trial and everything she might not have had time to redecorate, besides Esme says that this is only a temporary arrangement" Alice assured me.

"That's not what I meant Alice. The house doesn't even look like it's been lived in for years" I informed her.

"Well, maybe we can help her to redecorate but we're going to have to actually knock to make that offer" Alice suggested with a pointed look in my direction upon the latter part of her speech.

"Why can't you knock?" I queried indignantly.

"Bella, this was all your idea and now you're chickening out. I'm sure she's not _that _mental" Alice responded, looking shocked.

"Hey! I never said she was mental" I protested.

"Not in words, maybe but actions speak louder than words." Alice observed.

"And what actions of mine said that she was mental?" I argued.

"Well, the fact that you're scared to knock on her front door is definitely saying something" Alice pointed out.

"Well, if you're so fearless then why don't you go knock?" I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest childishly.

"You are unbelievable Bella. But if I don't come back then it will be your entire fault" Alice stated as she got out of her Porsche.

"I'm sure she's not _that _mental" I quoted teasingly fighting the urge to laugh at her hypocrisy.

"Whatever" Alice responded indifferently.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming" I sighed.

Alice grinned triumphantly at me as she led the way to the front door. She got a tissue out from her jeans pocket and made sure that her fingers were pressed into it so that no part of her skin made any contact with the door knocker as she used it. When she finally drew back, dropping her tissue on the door step at her feet, I raised an eyebrow inquisitively at her.

"What? That doorknocker looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. I didn't want to catch any germs" Alice explained seriously.

I just shook my head at her madness, sometimes Alice was so melodramatic. We stood in silence and waited for the door to open, but when ten minutes passed to find us still waiting outside I glanced at Alice to see her tapping her foot impatiently as she stared, no, glared at the door as if the door were offending her in some way. I gazed up at the sky to see it darkening with dismal clouds that were threatening to shower Forks with rain.

"Maybe she's not in?" I suggested when Alice's annoyed sigh sounded from beside me.

"Not in? I don't care. We'll break down the door and leave her a note then. I am not going to tolerate having driven my Porsche here to stand here for half an hour to just go home. If my baby is going to get rained on then I should at least have the comfort of knowing that I let that happen because I was helping my best friend as I am such a nice person" Alice ranted furiously, still glaring at the door as if she were ready to smash it into pieces with a chainsaw.

"Alice-"I began but then jumped when Alice's loud voice pierced my ears as she yelled up at the house:

"Oi! Ms Edward's mom. Open the door now because I am sick and tired of waiting out here and it is about to rain and I am not ready to die of the swine flu so open the door now or I will get my brother, Emmet to break it down!" Alice shouted as loud as was humanly possible for her.

I stared at her, astounded.

"What?" Alice snapped as she turned her frigid glare on me.

"Alice. Did you just call her Ms Edward's mom and then threaten to break her door down? She's probably calling the police if not the mental asylum if she was inside to hear any of that" I told her, my shock leaking into my voice and words.

"Well if she had opened the door already then I wouldn't have had to resort to such measures and if she doesn't open it now then I will force Emmet to break it down because I certainly don't want to go to prison for breaking and entering" Alice explicated as though what she were saying made complete sense.

"Alice-"I began but again got no further than her name. Why does something or someone always interrupt me thus causing me to get no further than her name? I guess fate has does have a sense of humour.

The door had suddenly opened slowly. Alice and I looked away from each other to stare at the woman that now stood at the door looking at us. Edward's mother, Elizabeth, was small, though not as small as Alice, she was slender, slight and had a build as petite as that of a little girl, she certainly did resemble a child more than an adult.

It was evident where Edward got his good looks from. He had his mother's eyes, hair, and facial features. But there were a lot of differences in their appearance as well as similarities. Whereas Edward's green eyes sparkled brightly, Elizabeth's eyes, though the same colour green, darkened sadly, Edward's bronze hair glowed with colour in any light and his hair was untidy and tousled with life, whereas Elizabeth's hair's bronze colour had receded a little and had greyed in a lot of places, it hung limply, drooping to her shoulders without much life, messy stray strands resting limply on her face and forehead.

She stood in the doorway, her shoulders and back hunched. Her whole form tensed as though she were ready to run away at any minute. Her hand was clenched over the door handle so tightly that the skin stretched over her knuckles was white and her green eyes darted nervously between mine and Alice's faces. At that moment, in her tensed and frightened state, she reminded me of a cornered prey and you couldn't do anything but pity her. She was the epitome of suffering, pain, sadness, and loneliness.

"Hi, Mrs Mason, oh wait can we still call you that if you're a widow? Probably not seeing as Mason was your former husband's name so what do we call you then?" Alice enthused, as bubbly and hyperactive as ever.

I glared at Alice. Elizabeth probably didn't want to be reminded of her husband's death and Alice had just gone and announced to her face that her husband was now dead, now making her a widow. Elizabeth's eyes widened just as they glistened with tears that were just on the verge of spilling over but her voice was even, but timid and small as she questioned:

"Who are you people? What are you doing here? My son won't stand you hurting me even though I don't know where he is. I've been calling him and calling him and he hasn't come" Elizabeth blurted out her words clear and ringing yet not making any sense at all.

Edward was currently in jail so why had she been calling him? And if I remembered correctly, she had looked upon him in the courtroom with the utmost hatred. I glanced at Alice to see her staring at Elizabeth like she had just sprouted a kangaroo's head and quacked at her.

I turned back to Elizabeth, swallowing my fear and apprehension, I mean I wasn't feeling all too comfortable with the prospect of having a conversation with a woman who…well, didn't seem quite right in the head.

"Look, Elizabeth, I don't know what to call you so do you mind if I call you Elizabeth?" I asked, wanting to be polite.

"I don't know where my son is. He's only five years old, you know, he could get kidnapped and shipped off to some slave industry" Elizabeth babbled.

I couldn't stop myself from whipping my head around to stare at Alice with slightly panicked eyes. I had no idea what on Earth a 'slave industry' was and as far as I knew Edward was seventeen not five.

Alice stared back at me with her expressive grey eyes that were right now expressing one thought that was clearly: "This woman is a bucket of nuts. Let's go make a run for it before she takes some manic swipe at us".

I contemplated making a run for it now but then dismissed the thought almost instantly. Edward. I was doing this for Edward. I chanted mentally to myself. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, your son is fine, actually he is the reason I'm here. I wanted to talk to you about him" I told Elizabeth.

Her head whipped up from the spot on the doorstep that she had been mumbling to and her green eyes, so like Edward's, apart from the sadness that clouded her eyes finally focused intently on me.

"Please come in" she commanded, sounding completely sane and normal for the first time.

I glanced at Alice who looked doubtful upon the invitation. But as Elizabeth retreated into her house, I followed and I could tell that Alice had decided to enter as well.

I heard Alice quietly shut the door behind her as she entered before the whole house was plunged in darkness. It was indeed very dark. Every curtain was drawn and I could see that the walls had been painted black and also that the curtains were black velvet which made the house even darker…and melancholy. I glanced behind me to see that Alice's eyes were wide as she took in the depressing deco as her small nose slowly wrinkled with disgust as she noticed the thin layer of dust coating all the furniture.

I decided to chance the risk and as Elizabeth strode into the living room I asked her:

"Why have you made this house's deco so dark and depressing?"

"There is nothing to fear in the darkness, but there is more to fear in the light because unlike the darkness, light can show you everything, even the stuff you don't want to see, whereas the darkness can hide your troubles and fears from your eyes" Elizabeth answered and I was surprised to hear how wise and mature the words sounded.

As the words escaped her lips, I saw something like familiarity, recognition and then something like remembrance flash across her face. The emotions on her face made me think that her own words had caused her to remember something important that she had forgotten long ago. I was surprised to see tears overflow from her eyes and her shoulders shake with silent sobs.

I looked away and pretended not to notice. My eyes suddenly fell upon on a picture frame on an old, dusty coffee table with spindly legs.

The frame encased an old looking, crumpled picture that had creases that were evident even through the glass of the picture frame. It was a photograph of the weeping woman behind me, sitting with a handsome, tall, broad, muscled man with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes whilst they both smiled down upon the little toddler that sat between them. Edward. Three year old Edward grinned crookedly out at me, his green eyes twinkling whilst a much younger and happier Elizabeth smiled adoringly at him with her husband beside her.

The photograph revealed such a different reality to the one I had come to learn of. I didn't mean about the obvious things like the three year old Edward and the much younger Elizabeth and John Mason.

Elizabeth actually looked happy. Her appearance was also so different to what she looked like now. Her hair was combed and neat and the bronze colour was as glowing and alive as her tree year old son's. Her green eyes sparkled with liveliness and youth unlike now. But the most striking difference about her in the photo was her beaming complexion and radiant smile. Especially her radiant smile. She was happy in that photo and what surprised me was that she smiled happily as she gazed lovingly at her three year old son, Edward, as though he meant the world to her and no one had even an ounce of the love she had for her son.

It was clear that in this photograph she thought the world of her son and loved him more than anything. So what on Earth had changed that? I turned around to ask my questions aloud to Elizabeth but was shocked to see tears flowing relentlessly down her cheeks.

"I want my son" she said in a broken whisper before collapsing to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest as she sobbed.


	21. Chapter 21

**As some of you may have noticed I have changed my pen name because I didn't like my old one, I just thought I should tell you guys so that you all wouldn't think that some stranger had hijacked this story from me. Anyway wow! 118 reviews! That is awesome, really. I love you all so much. Maybe if you can help me get past I don't know…maybe 125 I could give you all a prize. I would give you all an Edward Cullen but he's Stephenie Meyer's to give away, not mine. Maybe I could imagine you all up Edward's identical twin, no one mentioned who owns Edward's twin (sneaky grin)… Anyway, on with the chapter!**

**Chapter 21**

BPOV

I stared on in wonder and shock as Elizabeth continued to weep into her knees. I wasn't sure what to do. When a person is crying, there are one of two things they would like: either they prefer to cry to themselves alone with everyone else leaving them alone or they would like someone to comfort them whilst they cry. I had no idea what Elizabeth wanted between the two. I looked towards Alice for help but she looked just as stumped as me.

But as Elizabeth's shoulders began to shake more and more violently, I rushed forward to wrap my arms around her small, hunched, quivering form and hoped that she would push me away. But she didn't push me away. Instead she leaned into my chest, resting her head on me just above my beating heart whilst her tears fell upon my t-shirt, soaking the material. Alice stood, watching for a moment before hurrying over to the floor and kneeling beside Elizabeth to wrap her arms around her too.

It felt odd to hold Elizabeth in my arms whilst she wept and yet normal at the same time too. Odd, because she was at least twenty years older than me and was sobbing in my arms as though she were a lot younger than me, and it felt normal because she didn't feel like she was older than me, she felt so small and fragile in my arms, as though if I let her go, she would instantly be at the mercy of danger. I now understood how it was possible for Edward to be able to mange looking after his mother for most of his life. She was a vulnerable creature, as vulnerable as a small girl.

Eventually, she did calm down enough to stare up at me with tear-filled eyes and say in a half-whisper:

"You said you came to talk to me about Edward?" she asked in a watery murmur.

"Yes, I did" I confirmed, perceiving that I had just heard her say Edward's name for the first time.

It was like hearing Edward's name slip from the lips of a stranger.

But this was his mother, I had to remind myself. Nothing can change that, not even her previous attitude and behaviour to her son in the courtroom. I had come here to ask her questions and try to make her recognise her son, to make her see sense and want to help Edward. It was of no use reflecting on how Edward's name sounded on her lips.

"Can you please tell me where my son is?" she requested.

How was I supposed to tell her that her son is currently in jail? How could I tell her that he was agonising over the fact that she had publicly accused him of murder? How on Earth was I supposed to tell her that her son was the hated murderer of her husband? I couldn't. Simple as that, but I had to. I had no choice.

"Edward is in jail" I said slowly.

Elizabeth looked bewildered as she stared at me and said objectionably "But what on Earth is my five year old son doing at a jail?"

She obviously hadn't grasped the fact that her son was _not_ five years old but that he was seventeen years old and _in _jail as opposed to just being 'at' jail. I looked to Alice for help; I didn't have it in me to spell out the whole long, painful story to Elizabeth. Alice just stared at Elizabeth expressionlessly for a moment before saying very slowly, stretching out each syllable:

"He is not five years old anymore, Elizabeth"

"What? But I don't understand" Elizabeth almost wailed hopelessly, appearing more like a child than anything else.

"Elizabeth, Edward isn't a child anymore. He's seventeen years old" Alice informed her somewhat firmly.

"No. he's not. Edward is five years old. I'm his mother and I know that he doesn't even turn six for another year, let alone seventeen" Elizabeth argued adamantly.

God help me. It looked like we weren't only dealing with a woman who looked and acted like a child but one who was as stubborn as one. Alice sighed half in frustration and half in exasperation. I looked at Elizabeth who still had tear streaks on her flushed cheeks and dark circles under her eyes as well as a steel, determined glint in her green eyes. I could tell by that glint in her eyes that she wasn't planning on listening to us anytime soon, it was the same glint Edward got in his eyes when he was being obstinate about something.

A huge lump constricted my throat as did happen every time I thought of Edward these days. I looked around me for any sort of inspiration that would help our situation when my eyes fell upon the picture frame of three year old Edward with his radiant parents; the picture frame was lying on its face on the coffee table where I had flung it without a thought when I had rushed over to Elizabeth.

I noticed the photograph and that was when inspiration struck. I turned back to Elizabeth and enquired:

"Elizabeth, what year did you get married?"

"1989, June" Elizabeth answered promptly.

"And what year do you think it is now?" I questioned.

Elizabeth looked completely stunned for a moment and I could tell by the blank, vacant expression on her face that this question had never occurred to her at all.

I smiled slightly as I said to Alice "Alice, can you please find a calendar somewhere?"

But Elizabeth blinked and then quickly protested "No, no. It's alright. It is 1997"

"No, Elizabeth, it's not" I stated, shaking my head.

"It is 2009" Alice interjected.

"But-but, how can that be? I don't understand" Elizabeth murmured, shaking her head with a dazed look on her face.

"Elizabeth" I said as I stared evenly into her green eyes, so like Edward's in their shape and colour and yet so different in their depth and quality.

"It is 2009. If you don't believe me, you can ask anyone outside and they'll tell you it's 2009. Edward is seventeen, not five. You've been living in the past much too long" I told her gently.

"Don't you remember the past couple of weeks at all?" Alice queried, aghast.

Elizabeth merely stared at Alice blankly.

I looked at Alice. She looked back at me. We had no idea what to do. This was all pointless if Elizabeth couldn't remember anything. But we had to do something to jog Elizabeth's memory. For Edward's sake.

I looked around me again for inspiration. My eyes fell upon Alice, rummaging through her handbag for something. I threw Alice a quizzical, puzzled expression as she brought out her cell phone with a wide, triumphant grin. She merely smiled at my questioning gaze and then began fiddling with the buttons on her phone.

After about a minute, Alice thrust her phone towards Elizabeth, making Elizabeth jump quite violently in the process, and then commanded Elizabeth:

"There. Look at that picture and tell me if you recognise your son"

I looked at the image on the screen of Alice's cell phone just as Elizabeth did and immediately smiled at the memory of when the picture was taken. It was a photo of Edward and me.

The six of us had all gone to some fun fair that had come to Forks a couple of months ago. At some point of that afternoon, Emmet had bought cotton candy for himself, a lot of it. He had bought enough to last him the whole day. During one point of the course of that afternoon, he had approached one of those stalls that let you win a big stuffed animal or something, when he had failed to win Rosalie anything three times consecutively in a row, we had all laughed and Emmet having gotten annoyed at us had thrown some of his cotton candy at all of us and Edward and I not being quick enough to dodge out of the way ended up getting tufts of cotton candy stuck in our hair.

The others having found that highly amusing did not help us get the cotton candy out of our hair and so Edward and I helped each other to pull bits of the candy out of each other's hair. We had both sat down somewhere on a bench, I had my hand in Edward's bronze locks, pulling bits of cotton candy out whilst he did the same to my brown hair. Alice had then whipped her cell phone out to snap a picture of that moment as quote "you both looked so adorable". In the picture, Edward and I had both snapped our heads around to stare at the camera, our hands still in each other's hair. Edward had managed to flash one quick crooked grin at the camera whilst I had only widened my eyes in surprise.

I remember how much everyone had laughed when they saw the cotton candy in mine and Edward's hair. He had suggested we helped each other get the tufts of candy out of our hair. I remember how I had marvelled at the soft texture of Edward's bronze locks in my fingers and how grateful I had been to Emmet and his cotton candy for having provided me with the opportunity to feel Edward's hair. I recalled how my cheeks had heated up every time Edward's hand had brushed against my cheek or my back or any part of my skin when he was taking the cotton candy out of my hair. I remembered how we had kept smiling at each other every time our hand had either brushed each other's skin or grinning at each other every time we pulled out a new tuft of cotton candy. It had been a silly afternoon but also one of the most magical of my life.

I crashed back down to the present and reality when Alice grabbed the picture frame I had been staring at earlier, the one of three year old Edward with his parents. She waltzed back to where Elizabeth and I were still sitting on the floor; Elizabeth was clutching Alice's phone in her hand; her eyes fixed on Edward. Alice held the picture frame in front of Elizabeth and queried:

"Can you see the resemblance between this toddler and that grown up guy? You can almost see the years that have passed between the two photos. You can't deny it anymore, Edward is no longer five. He's grown up now. Do you believe us now when we say he's seventeen and not five?"

Elizabeth made no reply but stared silently at the two photos, her eyes darting back and forth between the two. Then, her eyes filled up with tears as she whispered "He really has grown up. My little boy who I had sung to when he had nightmares has grown up and I had never even realized or even noticed. He is seventeen, so handsome and so in love"

I started at the last part. I stared at the two photos that were in Elizabeth's hands. No, there was no doubt about it, the only possible candidate for Edward falling in love with was me and I knew how wrong that presumption was.

"No, Elizabeth, you've got it wrong. Edward is not in love with me. We are just friends, trust me" I assured her.

Elizabeth looked at me and she had never looked saner or more motherly than in that moment.

"I know what love looks like and that is what Edward looks like. But I've got so many things wrong that I wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong this time too. I'm a terrible mother. What sort of mother misses the whole progression of their son's childhood and then their teen years too?" Elizabeth murmured dejectedly.

Alice smirked at me smugly as if to say "Told you so, even she thinks that Edward loves you" and I knew that she was certainly thinking something along those lines. But before I could stick my tongue out at her or do anything else she turned back to Elizabeth and informed her solemnly:

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Elizabeth. Edward and Bella are in love, everyone knows that. They're just too stupid to realize that for themselves"

But Elizabeth was no longer paying attention; she was staring at the image on Alice's phone adoringly, whilst the picture frame of the three year old Edward lay forgotten on the floor next to her. I found that I loved that picture. I just couldn't dismiss the sheer wonder that the idea of a three year old Edward excited in me. I looked back at Elizabeth who was still staring at the Edward on Alice's phone. I coughed quietly to get her attention back and she turned to look at me.

"Elizabeth, what do you remember of Edward's trial?" I asked quietly.

"What trial? Where is Edward now? I want to meet my son and apologise for being such an awful mother" Elizabeth blurted out in a fast and almost incoherent flurry of words.

"Elizabeth, please try and remember everything that has happened during the past couple of weeks" I requested beseechingly.

Elizabeth screwed up her face in concentration. Her eyes burning with the strain that this task obviously had on her. Then a couple of moments later, her expression smoothed over and she said in a rather dull, lifeless voice:

"Someone murdered John"

"Yes, but you know who that someone was and why they did it" I persevered desperately, feeling rather exhausted now with all of this effort I was exerting into Elizabeth.

Elizabeth gazed at me questioningly as she queried "How would you know that?"

"Because the culprit told me everything" I answered honestly with a pointed look at the image on Alice's phone.

She blinked a couple of times before she asked hesitantly "You're not saying that Edward is the culprit, are you?"

I responded only with "You know the truth, Elizabeth, you just need to remember it"

The room was silent with the tension and urgency of this conversation. Elizabeth then turned to look at me with haunted eyes:

"Edward couldn't have done it, could he?" Elizabeth enquired in a hushed voice.

"Whatever he done, he did only for your sake. For most of his life, his actions have been centred on your welfare. You were there that night, not me, you should know the details. You need to remember them if you want to help your son and if you love him at all, you will help him" I answered with feeling.

She looked down at Alice's phone and then picked up the picture on the floor. The one of her with her husband and her son. Her family. She stared at the photo and I could see that her eyes were darting from her husband to her son. Her eyes betrayed remembrance and pain. I could see the crash of emotion on her face as what I knew was the truth dawned on her.

She looked up at me and Alice, her eyes overflowing with tears.

"I remember everything now. I think…I think I've even got my sanity back. For that, I thank you both. Thank you for making me see sense. Thank you for bringing me back to reality. I'm sorry for how I acted at court and I know I should be apologising to Edward but right now I don't think I can face him. I will make a statement in his defence but I think right now I just need some time alone" she told us solemnly and sincerely.

Alice and I both nodded. She then placed her hand on top of my hand that rested upon my knee.

"Bella, I can see how much you love my son. He's lucky to have you and I hope you will take care of him" she told me.

I blushed but before I could say anything she smiled sadly at me before saying:

"Just wait here for a minute please. I need to be alone for a moment" she requested pleadingly.

Alice and I both nodded. She smiled that same sad smile before handing Alice back her phone and the disappearing into the kitchen. Silence engulfed the room but Alice and I made no attempt to break it. We both needed the silence to think things through. We continued to sit on the floor, making no sign of moving.

Several minutes passed before the silence was broken. The silence was broken by a sound so soft that if we had been making any noise we would not have heard it. A low moan of pain sounded from the kitchen. Alice looked up at me in alarm and I knew that she had heard it too. Without a word, we both jumped up and rushed towards the kitchen where we had heard the moan from.

We stopped at the door and I nearly passed out at what I saw.

**So what do you think Bella saw? Did you like the chapter? How soon do you want the next chapter? Important questions that I need to know the answers to. So what are you waiting for? Press that button right there and get your free identical Edward's twin. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey, people. I decided to treat you all and give you an early update for two reasons: A) you're all so fantastic for showering me with your wonderful reviews B) I'm feeling very sick today and I needed to write this chapter to make me feel a little bit better. Yes, writing is my drug, the beneficial one like medicines. Anyway, everyone who reviewed, congratulations for winning yourself an Edward clone. I know he's not the real thing but I don't own twilight so I don't have any rights to the real thing, so don't be surprised when you find an Edward replica on your doorstep tonight ready to take you to dinner in his silver Volvo. (Teehee) Do any of you read my long rambling notes? I don't blame you if you don't; I know I must get annoying sometimes so on with the chapter!**

**Chapter 22**

BPOV

Elizabeth was slumped on the kitchen tiles, her wrist bleeding excessively whilst a knife lay not too far away from her. Her face pale whilst her eyes fluttered closed. Eventually I snapped out of my stupor and rushed over to Elizabeth. I avoided looking at the blood and tried not to breathe in the rusty scent whilst searching her other wrist, the one that was not bleeding for a pulse. For a few moments, I felt nothing, but then I soon felt a faint pulse struggling to pump blood around her body. I then felt ragged gasps of breath on my neck and I knew that she was still alive. But only just.

I could feel the uneven thud of her pulse slowly fading and when I registered that, I swivelled around to face Alice whose face was drained of any colour as she stared at Elizabeth.

"She's still alive. Get an ambulance now." I yelled frantically at Alice.

Alice shook her head and then swiftly sprung into action, whipping her cell phone out and dialling as fast as she possibly could. I heard her hurried, fearful words practically shrieking into her phone. I turned back to Elizabeth, refusing to acknowledge the fact that I could smell blood in the room. But it was getting harder and harder and I could feel the dizziness slowly taking over as my stomach clenched itself into tight knots.

Elizabeth's eyelids fluttered and then her green irises focused on me. She looked fearful for a moment and I gripped her hand and I felt her squeeze back as I whispered:

"You'll be fine. Help is on the way. You'll be alright" I tried to assure her but I soon realized that my words meant nothing to her because she no longer cared about her life.

She no longer cared if she lived or died. The only person I was trying to reassure was myself. Tears streamed down my face as the smell of blood became more and more potent and I remembered my promise to Edward that I would look after his mom. I realized that there was nothing I could do to stop my promise from breaking as I felt the pressure on my hand disappear as Elizabeth's hand fell limp and lifeless.

The scent of the blood was too much to bear now and as darkness clouded my vision, I heard the faint sound of a siren.

EPOV

I was staring blankly at one of my cell walls as had become my custom these days. I had nothing to do but stare at the wall. I was reminiscing how much I wished I could feel the ivory keys of a piano under my fingers. I hadn't played in weeks. I had always loved playing the piano. There was no piano at my house so Esme had always permitted me to use the grand, white piano at her house because she loved to hear me play. Oh, how I wished I could be back sitting at the stool of that piano.

It was at this precise moment that a shadow fell over me and I noticed that I had a visitor. Why hadn't this person spoken yet instead of just standing there? I turned to see Bella standing at the bars of my cell. Tears streaming down her face relentlessly. I sprung upright and hurried over to her as close to her as the bars would allow.

"Bella, what happened? Why are you crying?"

I could feel panic bubbling inside of me. What had happened to make Bella come to me so distraught? Did someone hurt her? Or her family? God forbid. If anyone had caused my Bella an ounce of pain….wait! My Bella? Where had that come from? My attention zeroed in back on Bella as she cried desperately:

"I'm so sorry, Edward. I never meant for it to happen"

"Never meant for what to happen?" I demanded.

But Bella broke into a series of heart-wrenched sobs. She buried her face into her hands and continued to weep. It tore my heart to pieces to see Bella like this. What had happened to upset her so tremendously? I pushed my arms out of the bars and gently prised her hands away from her face.

"Bella, I'm losing my mind here. Please tell me what happened" I pleaded in a whisper.

"Oh, Edward. I'm so sorry. But the ambulance had arrived too late to help your mother" Bella cried, her shoulders shaking violently.

"What happened to my mom?" I demanded fiercely, my grip on Bella's hands tightening unconsciously.

"She committed suicide" Bella whispered, turning her face away from me.

I froze. My hands dropping from Bella's wrists, my whole body turning rigid.

"Alice and I had just gone to visit Elizabeth. We talked and she seemed fine. By the end she was perfectly normal. She had even promised to testify in your defence so we hadn't thought anything of it when she went into the kitchen and asked us to wait. I mean, she had been staying on her own for the past couple of weeks and she hadn't tried anything before, so we thought she would be alright on her own. We heard a moan and we went into the kitchen and saw…we saw Elizabeth had slit her wrists. They were bleeding and the knife was still on the floor. She was still breathing when we found her, she was breathing when Alice phoned the ambulance but by the time they had arrived…there was nothing they could do" Bella narrated tearfully.

I listened without any movement or response. My mother was dead.

"I'm so sorry, Edward. This is my entire fault. But there was so much blood. I didn't know what to do and the ambulance still hadn't arrived. I'm so sorry." Bella sobbed, tears pouring down her cheeks without a break.

I finally snapped my head up to look at her. She was sobbing freely, her arms wrapped around herself as though she were trying to hold herself together whilst she cried over and over again that this was all her fault. I felt my heart shatter as I looked at her; she was suffering like this because of me and my family. I put my finger under her chin and coaxed her gently to lift her head and look at me.

"None of this is your fault, Bella. You are one of the purest beings alive and I know that you never meant for any of this to happen" I soothed her.

"Edward. I'm so sorry that this had to happen. There was too much blood. I couldn't ignore the smell" Bella cried, now babbling almost incoherently.

I tried to reassure her as best as I could but I could tell that there was nothing I could do that would end her guilt. Eventually Bella calmed down enough to hiccup a hasty apology and an explanation that she had to leave. She turned to go before turning back and saying with her head down:

"Elizabeth gave me this to give you just a little before I passed out."

She handed me a small, crumpled up piece of paper and then she turned and fled. I swallowed a couple of times before I was sure that I was strong enough to open up the piece of paper.

I took a deep breath before unfolding the paper. Seeing that it was a letter, I began to peruse its contents.

'_Dear Edward,_

_I...I don't know where to start. I can't even remember the last time I wrote a letter. For starters, I suppose I should apologise for not coming to speak to you in person, I just couldn't find the courage to face you after all my mistakes. But I know that's the last thing I should apologise to you for amongst the many thousand wrongs I have done by you. How do I even begin to express my remorse?_

_I have been a terrible mother. The worst ever. I don't deserve any children, let alone a son as caring, brave, and mature as you. I know I missed your entire childhood as well as your teen years whilst floating in my own bubble. I know you will as you always have, shall make an excuse for my behaviour and mistakes, that I was ill. Yes, I was ill, in mind as well as in moral ethics. I should've known that when you're floating in a bubble, the higher you climb means the further you have to fall. _

_I was so far gone that the last memory I have of my seventeen year old son is of when he was five years old. The return to my sanity I can take as it means that I have a handsome, wonderful, grown son to return to, it's the return to reality that I can't handle. Reality means to me the revelation of my many mistakes. I was wrong about many things. First thing of all was John. He was my biggest mistake. I'm not saying that he never loved me, Edward; I know that a part of him always had. What I had refused to accept was that that part of him had died long ago._

_For if that part of him had still been living, he would've never forced his only son to have to resort to protecting his mother from his own father. You did nothing wrong, Edward. You have a pure conscience, therefore, never doubt it. The only way you could've ever committed a wrong was if you hadn't intervened that night and stopped your father. You never meant to kill your father, but had only done it to protect me. If you had not acted as you had, you would have been dead that night. Whatever you done, you did only for me. You killed John to protect yourself as well as me. _

_I know that I had turned my back on you when you had most needed me. I know YOU will forgive me, my angel. But the problem is that I shall never be able to live with myself for being such a terrible mother to someone who deserves happiness and love. You will never be able to grab the love and joy you have a right to whilst I remain in your life, Edward. While I live, you will always feel obligated to me and you will never permit yourself to leave me for a better life. I don't want that Edward. I want my son to get all the happiness he deserves and more._

_It is for that reason that I do the one good deed in my life and take myself away from this world and your life. It is for you, Edward that I shall die and leave you free to get the love and joy you have a right to. Know that, my son, that though I have been a terrible mother to you, I have and always will love you with all my heart and it is with that thought in mind that I shall die. For my only and much loved son. _

_With love,_

_Your mother_

I stared at the words on the paper. I understood the words and comprehended that they were written in my mother's hand writing. I registered that the letter was addressed to me. What I couldn't digest was why wasn't I feeling anything? I knew that my mother had committed suicide and was dead and yet I couldn't find it in myself to shed even a tear. It wasn't that I didn't care. I just…I don't know what I felt.

As I held the letter in my hand, I could feel nothing. I had no one in the world. I could feel nothing. My trial was tomorrow but I found that I no longer cared about that either. I was numb and I couldn't feel anything nor could I find anything to care about. I sat down on the edge of my bed and returned to staring blankly at the wall. But this time when I stared at it, I was empty.

**So, what did you think? Please review. I'm sure you must all have figured out by now that more reviews means faster update. Don't you all want to tell me what you thought of this chapter? The button is right there, you know. **


	23. Chapter 23

**The response I got for the last chapter is mind boggling. Words cannot describe how awesome you all are or how much I love you guys. I stand by my previous compromise, more reviews mean faster update, so here is chapter 23 beginning at Edward's trial. Remember, this is where he is declared either innocent or guilty. **

**Chapter 23**

BPOV

Today was Edward's trial. Again. Alice had been hoping that the trial would be delayed until after Elizabeth's funeral. But the court had already adjourned the trial so they had decided that today would be the final verdict and the funeral would take place in two day's time. I couldn't share Alice's disappointment in this turn of events. That wasn't to say that I was satisfied with it either. I wasn't sure what I wanted anymore. Elizabeth's suicide had blown everything out of proportion for me. I didn't want to have my nerves shredded to pieces by going to Edward's trial but I didn't want to go to Elizabeth's funeral either.

I knew that my grief must be nothing in comparison to what Edward must be suffering. But when I had finally managed to get past that wall of madness that Elizabeth had barricaded herself in, I saw how intelligent and passionate she really was. I saw remnants of the woman she was before her long term suffering and I admired her all the more for it. I knew that if I had had the time to get to know her more, then I would've loved and adored her like my own mother and I grieved all the more for it, not for the woman I had found dead in her kitchen but the for the woman I could've befriended and loved if I had only had the chance.

Rosalie and the others had all been very sympathetic once they had heard about mine and Alice's…experience. But the only person I could really talk to with empathy, the only person who really understood and was fully there for me was Alice. Edward should've been the person I should be able to discuss this all with but I was afraid that I might say the wrong thing to him and offend him. Also, my love for him had grown even more compassionate, impossible though it may seem. This was a disadvantage as it took every ounce of restraint in me to stop myself blurting out "I love you" as soon as I saw him.

"But is that really such a bad thing, Bella?" Alice countered when I confided in her about my growing difficulty of keeping my feelings to myself.

"Alice, if ever there was a worse time than now to tell him how I feel, then I'm a vampire. His mother has just killed herself, making him an orphan and his trial is today. The last thing he needs to add to his stress is one of his best friends being hopelessly in love with him" I reasoned.

"But don't you see, Bella? Edward needs to know that he is not alone in this, that we're all there for him and what better way to let him know that than for you to tell him that you love him?" Alice argued.

"Alice. I'm pretty sure that when a traumatised person needs support from his friends, he's not looking for a date but for something like a shoulder to cry on" I disputed cynically.

Alice just sighed and dropped the subject, never bringing it up again unless I did first.

The two of us pulled up outside the court room. Alice had refused Jasper's offer to ride with her. I was glad for that. I wanted Alice near me; I needed to know that I wasn't the only one worrying about today's trial. I saw Lily enter the courtroom ahead of me and I smiled and waved at her. She returned my wave quite cheerfully. Well, it was nice to know that at least someone was feeling confident.

Alice turned to me, her grey eyes staring at me intently.

"Ready?" she asked, linking her arm through mine.

I took long, slow, deep breaths, steeling myself for the emotional tumult that was sure to hit me as soon as the trial would start. We entered the court room with my stomach clenching itself into tight knots whilst a wild swarm of butterflies fluttered uncomfortably in the pit of my stomach where the worst knots were tangled. To put it bluntly, I was unbearably nervous.

We sat down in our seats and waited for the trial to commence. Emmet, Rosalie, and Jasper joined us soon after. Emmet for some reason looked excited and rather laid-back as though he was sure of the outcome of this trial and was not at all unsettled by it. He was almost as hyperactive as Alice usually was-who was sitting next to me quite sombrely today-bouncing up and down in his seat, fidgeting constantly to the point that Rosalie had to snap at him to sit still several times.

Edward finally came in. I felt my eyes widen as I watched him. He was as handsome as ever but his face looked so gaunt and lifeless. It was as though there was no emotion in him at all. When had he suddenly started looking so emotionless? I hadn't seen this change in him till…after I gave him Elizabeth's letter. Could Elizabeth's suicide be the reason for Edward's condition?

The trial started. I listened to the opposing arguments without really concentrating on them. My eyes were fixed on Edward the entire time. He seemed to not even be listening to any of his trial nor did he seem to care. As I watched him, I perceived that Edward had never resembled his mother as much as he did today. The sparkle I was used to seeing in his green eyes- though not completely gone like in Elizabeth's eyes- had faded significantly. His bronze hair was its usual messy disarray but now instead of having the aura of untameable life; it now had the dull look of someone who couldn't be bothered to care for tidying his hair.

It was only when Alice elbowed me hard in the ribs that I cast my undivided attention to Lily who had apparently reached her winning argument.

"Elizabeth Mason had committed suicide-" I flashed a glance at Edward at this point to see how he was taking that reminder of his mother's death but Edward's face remained an emotional mask as smooth as marble "but she had left a statement behind in his defence" Lily continued.

My eyes snapped back to Lily at that and I was now paying complete attention when she produced a crumpled piece of paper. Her topaz eyes were twinkling, looking more gold, as though she could see a definite victory just on the horizon. Her small smile was triumphant as her eyes met mine and I found myself being somewhat reassured.

Suddenly, Emmet stuck his brawny arm up into the air and started waving it about as though he was trying to flag down a taxi.

The judge looked absolutely bewildered when he saw Emmet's large arm waving at him in the air.

"Err, yes, young man?" the judge said to Emmet, his confusion evident as it leaked into his voice.

"Can I please go to the stand?" Emmet asked.

I cringed in embarrassment just as the others did.

"You don't ask to go to the stand, they call you up if they need you" Rosalie hissed at Emmet.

The judge looked unsure of what to say as Emmet stared at him expectantly.

Lily cleared her throat loudly before saying "Er, your honour, may I have him on the stand?"

The judge nodded before gesturing for Lily to proceed. Emmet grinned widely before making his way up to the stand, trampling many people's toes. A chorus of ow's and moans of pains went up in the air in the time it took Emmet to finally reach the stands.

Emmet smiled hugely when he finally reached the front of the court room and he then went on to begin saying in a loud, carrying voice "Your honour, ladies and gentleman of the jury. I have known Edward for a long time and know that-"

Lily cut him off by saying "Yes, well, Mr Cullen. You can save your speech for later because I have a few questions to ask you"

Emmet rolled his eyes theatrically as he whined childishly "Can't it wait? I have some evidence to tell everyone to help bail Edward"

Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and I all groaned quietly simultaneously as Emmet became more and more mortifying by each minute.

Lily looked a little harassed as she asked in a voice that was carefully controlled "What is it that you have to tell us, Mr Cullen?"

"Well, I know for a fact that Edward's dad, John Mason used to abuse him because Edward and I used to have gym together a while ago and Edward would always have bruises and cuts on him like he had gotten beaten up or something. Edward would lie and say that he had fallen or hurt himself or something. I used to find that odd because he's not clumsy and isn't accident prone at all like one of my other friends but I couldn't argue because let's face it, I'm hardly going to assume that Edward has a douche bag for a father who beats him and his mom up at every chance he gets, am I?" Emmet explicated in a tone that warded off any objections.

Emmet without waiting for any answers or prompts from the judge or Lily continued in the same persuasive manner "There is also the fact that Edward would never invite anyone to his house or anywhere near his house. He never mentioned his dad or anything. Whenever we brought up the subject of fathers, he would go all uptight and tense. I've always thought that quite odd. Did I mention how my mom, Esme was always worried about Elizabeth Mason because Elizabeth was always limping or sounding or looking like she was in pain? In fact, I know for a fact, because my dad, Carlisle went and did some digging, that no one in Forks knew of anyone with a job named John Mason but if you visited some pubs, you'd find that a lot of people are expecting some debt from a John Mason because of gambling. In fact, my dad found that a barman admitted that a John Mason was a regular drunkard who loved gambling that came to his bar every evening. Now put everything I've said with all your evidence and see what it adds up to"

The court was silent for a moment as every person present digested everything Emmet had said. Then Lily smiled brilliantly before turning back to the judge and adding to Emmet's words, making them sound a lot more convincing and factual. At some point in the trial, Lily called a Barman called Peter Lunkscurd to the stand who declared what Emmet had said about John being a regular customer who often drank too much and liked to gamble to be true.

I listened to the trial attentively and when I saw that Lily had managed to gather up a lot of evidence to support Edward, I became more and more eager for the verdict to come as hope burned brightly in my heart.

Finally the time for the verdict came. I waited anxiously as the jury deliberated and I found myself mentally listing the evidence that supported Edward solidly. Elizabeth's letter, Edward's confession, the evidence of John Mason's corruptness, and Emmet's confession. Surely, that was enough when on the opposing side; there was only John Mason's murdered body, and some fingerprints of Edward's. The jury had to understand that Edward only killed his father in self defence. If they convicted him as guilty, then that would be a miscarriage of justice, wouldn't it?

I turned my gaze towards Edward and found my eyes locked with a pair of sparkling green orbs. Edward was staring steadily into my eyes; the dazzling sparkle that normally lit up his eyes back. He finally looked like there was some life and emotion in him. But I also saw the pain in his eyes, as though something was breaking his heart, as though he had just had some heart-shattering epiphany.

I finally refocused my attention to the trial when Alice's hand suddenly clamped down on mine. I heard the jury reach a decision and then announce it. My eyes flashed to Edward, my vision blurred slightly by the tears.

**Sorry, I know the chapter was short but I already explained that the story more or less writes itself. Review please and please find in your kind hearts to read and review my new story: 'If only'. Here's the summary for **_**'If Only'**_**: **_**A certain tragedy caused Bella to leave the Cullens in Phoenix. Five years later, she's attending Dartmouth, now having finally moved on from the past but has she really? Can Edward's return in her life possibly be what she needs to finally move on?**_


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey, everyone. I apologise to those of you who found the cliff hanger from the last chapter aggravating. I honestly thought it was obvious. I mean, the majority of you figured out that Elizabeth had killed herself the last time I left you guys hanging so I thought you would all know what the verdict is here. No worries though, I'm trying to compensate for my unintentional meanness by posting up this chapter extra early. Now I'll shut up and leave you all to read. Review please. **

**Chapter 24**

EPOV

I was free. The court had declared me innocent. As soon as I left the courtroom into the sunlit air of the late afternoon I was assaulted with several arms squeezing the oxygen out of me. I no longer felt burdened but I did not feel joyous or light either. That would imply that I was no longer feeling numb which was true; I was no longer feeling empty and void of any emotion like I had been since my mother's suicide. But that was exactly the point; the grief that had failed to consume me when I had first heard of my mother's death had finally struck me during the trial.

When my eyes had inadvertently met Bella's in the court, I had had an epiphany. Emmet, of all people, had come to my rescue in the trial with evidence I had never believed him capable of bringing to light. When Emmet had been at the stand I had realized just how supportive and loyal my friends were but I also felt a pang of desire to see my mother watching the trial with worry and hope for me. That was when the reality of the truth came crashing down on me: my mother was gone and she was never coming back. The grief that had sliced my heart upon that truth was staggering.

Alice, Rosalie, and Bella were all clinging to me as though they were all trying to convince themselves that I were really standing there in their embrace. I breathed in the late afternoon air, revelling in the sheer joy of being out of the confined space of a prison cell but my happiness was somewhat marred by the fact that right now I craved another set of arms to be fastened around me.

I wished more than ever that I was still feeling numb. No one who has ever lost a dear one could possibly empathise with the loss I was feeling. The thought that I would never see my mother's face again pierced me so deeply that it seemed impossible that the empty hole I was feeling would ever seal itself.

Of course, I was an orphan now and still underage without any known living relatives to go to. The court had had no idea what to do with me but Carlisle and Esme willingly and happily volunteered to foster me as their adopted child. I thanked them without any real sincerity. I didn't want them to feel obligated to take me just because I had nowhere to go. I had assured them that I would find some solution on my own but they insisted that they had already come to think of me as their son for a long time now. I couldn't find the strength in me to tell them that right now all I wanted was to have a home with just me and my mother like I had always wanted but I knew that was impossible. Adoption by Carlisle and Esme was really the only option I had.

I gently extricated myself from the three girls with a hasty but firm explanation that I wanted to be alone for now. Everyone looked confused and ready to object, everyone but Bella that is. She threw a warning glare at each person in turn. Bella had always understood when I needed to be alone, strike that. She had always understood me as a person better than anybody. She turned to me with an encouraging smile, gently prompting me without any words to go ahead and be alone for as long as I want and need.

I smiled gratefully at her before sauntering off towards the forest. I wasn't sure where I was going but I knew that I wanted to be somewhere with no one around but me. I continued to amble along in the forest, veering off the path completely. I didn't care about getting lost at this precise moment, worst come to worst I would just call someone and ask them to give me a ride to… it was hard for me to think off the Cullen's mansion as home right now. To be honest, I had never really felt at home anywhere before in my life. I had always hated the life I had led when John Mason had been alive and had always been grateful to be out of the house. But if I had to name one place that I had ever felt as the closest thing to home then it would be the Cullen's white, glass house. The Cullens had always treated me as a part of their loving family and I was always happy to be at their charming abode.

I looked up as buttery sunshine blinded my eyes as I entered through a clearing into a beautiful meadow. The meadow was a circular area with blossom trees, oak trees, chestnut trees, and many other types of trees rooted into the ground at various places towering into the sky where sunshine was falling down into the centre of the meadow in a halo of buttery sunshine. Violets, daffodils, tulips, and lots of other flowers carpeted the grass in a rainbow of coloured petals. Robins and other birds sung sweetly from the tops of the trees as I heard the gush of a waterfall in the distance. There was a calm, tranquil aura emanating from the meadow that immediately persuaded me to stay here.

I strolled leisurely into the centre of the meadow and slowly lowered myself into a lying position with my head resting on the carpet of the soft petals of the many flowers in this meadow while the sunshine warmed my closed eyelids.

As I lay in this position I thought of my mother and the turn that my life had taken in the last couple of weeks. The life of endurance and suffering I had led all seventeen years of my life had always seemed a curse to me. I had always wished to abandon that life and now it seemed that I had finally gotten my wish. But for some reason whenever I had imagined a happy life without John Mason, I had always seen myself leading that much more peaceful life with my mother. I had lived with her and protected her for so long that it had never occurred to me that we might some day be separated. My mind strayed back to her last letter to me that was now in my jacket pocket. Lily had returned it to me thinking that I might want it in memory of her.

I hadn't had it in me to inform Lily that I already had countless memories of my mother. All of which involved her getting slapped around by John or of her cowering in fear in a corner, or her flinching when I so much as got an inch too close to her. My breath hitched in my throat as the one good memory of her came to my mind, well not necessarily good but it was good for me because it was the last time I could remember her acting like a mother towards me.

I realized with a pang that my mother had been right. As long as she had been alive I had always felt obligated to remain by her side and protect her from any harm. But she had been my mother. How could she expect me to do anything else? The words written by her hand in the letter forever imprinted in my mind flashed before my closed eyes: _You will never be able to grab the love and joy you have a right to whilst I remain in your life, Edward. While I live, you will always feel obligated to me and you will never permit yourself to leave me for a better life._

She had been right, of course. But had she been honestly dismayed by the fact that I was selfless enough to resign myself to a life she had refused to abandon? Again, another sentence came to mind upon that thought: _It is for you, Edward that I shall die and leave you free to get the love and joy you have a right to._

I didn't understand her motivation or purpose at all. Her letter left me feeling more conflicted than ever. I laid there for a couple minutes more, just wallowing in my grief and pain. The grief was worse than it should have been because it was delayed. I suppose I had just been in shock before. I didn't want to end up breaking down in front of everyone else so I stayed in the meadow until I was sure that I was composed enough to appear in front of the others.

I eventually opened my eyes and saw that I had stayed quite a long time. The previous halo of sunshine had now dimmed and I could now see the dusky glow of twilight skimming the tops of the trees. I exhaled a gusty sigh before standing erect and sauntering out of the charming meadow. I would be sure to return to this place soon.

I managed to make my way out of the forest without any problems. I decided that the only place I had to go to right now was my new home with the Cullens. I walked leisurely at my own pace to the Cullen's white house. I was surprised to arrive on the front yard to see Esme standing out there. She saw me and hurried over to me with a relieved expression on her maternal face.

"Oh thank heaven, you're finally here, Edward. I was starting to go from worried to panicked out of my brain" Esme sighed.

"Esme. Why on Earth would you ever feel compelled to worry about me?" I asked curiously.

Esme gazed evenly at me with her warm brown eyes as she answered "I know no one can ever replace Elizabeth in your heart, Edward. I know you're still in the early stages of grieving her but I was worried you might not understand that Carlisle and I are not trying to replace your mother but that we just want to be there for you in every way we can. I had been worried that you might have run away because you might now have wanted to have a home with me, Carlisle and the kids."

I stayed silent as I digested this.

"Edward, please don't think that we are trying to win you over. We just want to help. You don't have to go through all of this alone." Esme told me almost pleadingly. I guess my unresponsiveness was making her worry but the truth was that I honestly did not how to reply to her kind words.

Esme took a deep breath as she seemed to steel herself. Her expression was instantly saddened as she murmured "I'm really sorry about Elizabeth. I feel so bad that I had never noticed anything wrong with her. She was always so paranoid and I never figured out the reason for that. I can't help feeling as though I didn't do enough to try to stop any of this from happening".

That triggered a response in me. I didn't want Esme to feel guilty when she had nothing to be ashamed of. After all, I was the reason my mother killed herself.

"Esme, you have nothing to feel bad about. I am the cause of all of this" I reproached Esme, sounding harsher than I had originally meant to.

"Edward, you did nothing wrong. I won't have you burdening yourself by unnecessarily blaming yourself for something that you couldn't have prevented" Esme scolded me.

"If I'm not the reason for all of this, then explain this" I snapped as I handed her my mother's last letter to me.

Esme looked baffled for a moment before perusing the letter carefully. Her eyes widened with each word and she turned to me with sympathetic eyes.

"Edward, Elizabeth made her choice. You couldn't have done anything to have stopped this" Esme informed me firmly.

"I don't understand Esme. I didn't mind protecting her. What else could I have done? I would've spent my whole life looking after her without any complaint if she had let me. My happiness and all that rubbish didn't matter to me as long as she was fine. What made her think that I could ever be happy after she'd done this with me as her reason?" I questioned, desperate to understand something although how I expected Esme to give me any answers, I don't know.

Esme's face softened as she placed a gentle hand on my shoulder as she explicated "Edward. Elizabeth is a mother before anything else. I know that she always understood how much you cared for her but you have to understand that you were doing a parent's job. No parent can ever live with the guilt that they didn't do their duty to their children as they should have. They will always want the very best for their child. Elizabeth probably thought that the only way she will ever give you the best is by acting in this way. I don't suppose you will ever understand what she was trying to explain to you in this letter unless you ever have a child of your own. I don't think she expected you to understand either but I think that she just couldn't bear to leave you without an explanation for her actions"

I felt a huge lump swell in my throat and my heart turn heavy. I vaguely understood what Esme and my mother had been trying to tell me and as I thought of the sacrifice my mother had made for me to compensate for the many thousands of tribulations I endured for her sake I felt pain more searing than any other I had ever felt. I swallowed several times in an attempt to maintain my composure. Esme must've sensed what I was suffering for she went on to rub soothing circles into my back as she gently told me:

"It's okay to show your pain, Edward. The grief will never fully go away but your body can't live with the grief you're going through for too long so it will make you get over it gradually. You'll always remember your mother with sadness but eventually you will be able to think of her without feeling like your heart will break."

I couldn't hold it in any longer and the salty tears cascaded down my cheeks. Esme wrapped her warm, comforting arms around me. I felt like I was in the consoling embrace of my mother again and for a moment I thought I was five years old again whilst my mother sang in my ear trying to comfort me after my nightmares. But then I felt the crumpled corner of my mother's letter brush against my thumb and the reality of her death attacked me viciously once more. I rested my head on Esme's shoulder as I mourned for my mother. Esme's embrace was that of a mother and it made me crave the arms of my own mother.

However, as I leaned into Esme's arms I felt comforted somehow. Esme was right. I didn't have to suffer all alone. I had my newly adopted family and all my friends. They were loyal and supportive; they had all proved that I could count on them to be there for me. I couldn't stop a small smile spreading over my face as I comprehended that Alice and Emmet were now technically my siblings. The thought made me want to laugh. Emmet drove me crazy as it is when he was just my friend; god only knows what will happen to my sanity with him now living in the same house as me.

Esme made no comment or any remark as I let my grief overflow in the tears streaming down my face. She kept her arms around me as though she had done this with me a dozen times; as though I had always been a part of her family. Eventually, I had released enough of my pain to feel ready to enter the house. Esme smiled encouragingly at me before leading me inside. Into my new home. My new life.

**There you have it. Chapter 24 in Edward's pov. He is free! Don't worry the story is not over yet but the end is coming. I suppose now is the point where I should ask you whether or not you want a sequel. Originally, I wasn't going to write a sequel because I didn't have any ideas but then a certain song inspired the sequel. You should really listen to it; the song is Apologise by One Republic. It inspired the plot for the sequel but I am only going to write the sequel if you guys are going to read it. The story isn't over yet but you guys should tell me now if you want a sequel. Another thing, I am rather disappointed in the lack of hits and reviews for my other story 'If Only'. It is another Bella and Edward fanfic with plenty of drama in store. So review that story as well as this chapter, pretty please with a cherry on top (unless you hate cherries in which case we'll leave out the cherries).**


	25. Chapter 25

**Wow. 160 reviews. That is amazing. Thanks so much. I have decided that I will do the sequel. I've already got the whole plot planned out and I have decided the title which will be 'Too Late'. So when the curtain shall fall on this story, (which should be in about two or three chapters) keep a look out for the sequel. Chapter 25 is starting at Elizabeth's funeral. Review please. **

**Chapter 25**

EPOV

I woke up quite suddenly. It couldn't have been the sunlight streaming through the glass of the back wall of my new bedroom that had woken me so suddenly. I sat up in bed to see Emmet standing over me with a wide grin on his face. I glared at him. Not even a whole day living in the same house as him and he's already trying to irritate me to death.

"Great. You're awake. I thought I might have to hit you again" Emmet said solemnly.

My glare deepened as I realized that Emmet was using violence to wake me up.

"Emmet, if you're here to ask me to make you breakfast then either you get out before I give you permanent brain damage or you just get out" I snapped angrily.

"Naw, man. I've already had breakfast" Emmet stated nonchalantly.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Oh, that." Emmet mumbled.

"Yes, that. I don't know how I'm going to survive living in the same house as you" I groaned exasperatedly.

Emmet just grinned goofily and I glared at him in response

"What?" Emmet said after ten minutes of my glaring.

"What are you doing in here?" I snarled, fed up with his stupidity.

"Oh, well…mom told me to tell you that Elizabeth's funeral will be starting soon so you had better get ready" Emmet mumbled.

I froze. The concept of there even being a funeral had escaped my mind but I mentally goaded myself for not expecting this. A funeral is what generally happens for the deceased after all. Emmet was staring at me warily as though afraid that I might break down into tears any minute. Well, I suppose I couldn't blame Emmet for feeling frightened of that event. I found it impossible myself to picture Emmet faring well on a sentimental scene.

I nodded to let Emmet know that I was fine and that I was going to be down soon. He breathed a sigh of relief and almost ran out of the room. I showered and dressed in an almost zombie like manner, thoughts of the upcoming funeral dominating every thought on my mind. I went downstairs and refused Esme's offer of breakfast feeling fairly certain that if I consumed anything then it would only be to puke it back out again later.

I entered the garage so that Emmet could drive me to the funeral in his jeep. I entered the garage and came to a halt when I saw a sleek, shiny Aston Martin Vanquish sitting in the corner of the garage.

"Whoa. Who in the family owns that car?" I asked Emmet.

Emmet glanced at what I was staring and did an appreciative once over before turning to me with a sly smile as he answered

"You do"

I turned to him incredulously.

"I'm not in the mood for practical jokes, Em." I finally managed.

"Fine, if you don't believe me then you can just ask mom and dad." Emmet shrugged.

"I'm not going to bother your parents for something as stupid as this" I dismissed his suggestion indifferently.

Emmet turned to me with a sheepish smile as he pointed out "They're your parents as well now, you know."

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair as I responded awkwardly "I know that. It's just a little hard to accept that…I just need to get used to the idea."

Emmet nodded before he said "I'm not lying though. Mom and dad really did buy you that car."

I raised my eyebrows disbelievingly at him before he shrugged and then bellowed loudly "Hey, mom! Can you come down here for a sec?"

I glared at him. Emmet noticing my glare just said defensively "What?"

I just sighed as Esme hurried into the garage looking worried.

"What is it?" she enquired.

"Isn't it you and dad bought the Aston Martin for Edward?" Emmet demanded.

Esme blushed, before she turned to me to say "I know you would rather we hadn't, Edward. But all of our kids have a car and we didn't think it fair that you shouldn't have one."

I raised an eyebrow as I queried "So to maintain a system of fairness in the house you thought I should get an Aston Martin?"

Esme however, misunderstood my question and answered "Well, Alice has a Porsche and we wanted to spend just as much money on you but we didn't know what you would like. Emmet said that you would be perfectly happy with an Aston Martin"

"It's not that Esme. I love the car but I didn't want you to spend so much money on me" I explained to her.

"Edward, please just accept the car." Esme said wearily as she handed me the car keys.

"But isn't it a little ostentatious?" I questioned.

Esme frowned and agreed "Yes, maybe you would be better of going to the funeral in Emmet's jeep"

I nodded and climbed into Emmet's jeep ignoring his triumphant grin. We rode in silence as Emmet could tell that thoughts of the funeral were already creeping into my mind and polluting my mental peace.

"We're here" Emmet mumbled as he pulled up to a stop.

I was feeling too anxious to retort sardonically to Emmet's observation like I would have done under any other circumstances. Emmet and I walked amongst the crowds searching for Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and Bella whilst random strangers approached us, well me to express their sorrow upon my unfortunate loss. Bullshit, none of them with the exception of Esme had ever cared for my mother. Emmet having finally spotted Rosalie and the others, tapped me on the shoulder and mercifully managed to drag me away from the crowds who were telling me how 'sorry they were for my loss'.

Emmet and I found the others. Emmet went to stand beside Rosalie with his arm draped loosely around her waist. I was grateful that they were saving their usual displays of love for later. I shuddered at the mere thought of them going through their usual greeting here at the funeral. I stood beside Bella who smiled gently up at me. We all sat down as the priest began to speak.

"You okay?" Bella whispered, leaning in closer to make sure that no one but me heard her words. I could feel her sweet breath on my neck and for some reason that I could not fathom, her proximity thrilled every nerve cell in my body. Odd.

"I think I'll manage to get through the funeral without any unexpected outbursts." I answered with a small grin in her direction.

Bella smiled slightly in response before leaning in closer to whisper "If you ever need to talk about anything then just know that I'm ready to listen".

I smiled gratefully at her. I thought about the perseverance, loyalty, determination she had shown me in the last couple of weeks. She had proved that there was no one in the world I could trust more than her.

"I know and thank you. For everything." I hoped she heard the sincerity in my voice. She blushed a little before turning to face forwards again.

A hush went through the crowds as the coffin was brought out and I felt a huge lump constrict my air passage. I felt like I was suffocating. It was only when I felt a gentle pressure on my hand that I realized that tears were cascading down my cheeks and that Bella had grabbed hold of my hand and was now squeezing comfortingly.

I turned to her and I saw that she was crying too. I exerted a little pressure of my own into her own hand and I knew that I needed her comfort right now. More than anyone else, I needed to know that Bella was there for me. I could not say why as I had no explanation for this sudden need for her but none of these questions were really dominating my mind when I abruptly placed my head on her shoulder, my hair pressing into the side of her neck. I kept my head on her shoulder, not moving it from there once throughout the rest of the funeral. Bella rubbed soothing circles into my back as I kept my head on her shoulder, my face pressed into her neck.

My mother was gone but somehow I felt more at home here with Bella than I had ever felt with my own mother.

**Okay, I know it was short and not much happened but how could I leave out Elizabeth's funeral? I'm sorry if you didn't enjoy this chapter but I can guarantee that the next chapter will be better. Any guesses as to what will happen in there…**


	26. Chapter 26

**PLEASE! PLEASE REVIEW MY OTHER STORY 'IF ONLY'. It would mean so much to me. Per-leeeeeeeese review it. If you do, I promise to try and bring you the next chapter here more quickly. Ha, I know it's pretty scandalous to resort to bribing but writing is my life therefore my stories are my organs. Okay, you can just ignore that analogy. But please find it in your wonderfully kind hearts to read and review 'If Only'. **

**Chapter 26**

BPOV

That night, Alice insisted on a movie night at the Cullen's house with all six of us. I tried to make her see reason; that Edward might not want to see a movie right after Elizabeth's funeral but Alice only argued persistently:

"Edward is finally free. It'll be the first time that all six of us can enjoy ourselves together."

I was going to dispute that she could wait a little while longer for the movie night so that Edward can deal with his grief efficiently and then really enjoy himself when we have a movie night but then Edward interposed with:

"I think that's a great idea, Alice. It will be fantastic to spend some time with you all again"

"Yay! Oh and you all have to spend the night too. It'll be so much fun" Alice squealed enthusiastically.

I just let it go then. I had only been fighting against Alice on his behalf so if he wanted to have a movie night then what problem could I possibly have? Edward seemed to have recovered from his previous breakdown at the funeral and he would now keep shooting me secretive smiles when he thought no one else was looking. The skin on my neck where his soft, bronze coloured head had rested during the funeral was still tingling from that contact.

The six of us had traipsed inside the Cullen's white, glass house. Alice had bounced into the living room just moments ago with blankets and bowls of popcorn for us to enjoy on the couches.

Alice and jasper, and Emmet and Rosalie curled up together in the armchairs, leaving me and Edward to sit together on the couch. I had a vague suspicion that Alice had purposely set this up to force me and Edward together on the couch. Alice chose a horror for us all to watch, despite my many protests. I did not fare well with horror movies but Alice ignored my objections and the others seemed rather enthusiastic about watching a horror film. I had no choice but to sit back with crossed arms and to bear it with ill will.

Edward smiled crookedly at me as he leaned down to whisper in my ear "Don't worry. I'm here to protect you" he assured me in a whisper that made a shiver run up the entire column of my spine.

The movie started along with a raging internal conflict for me. I didn't want to watch the movie as I would get terrified and have nightmares but if I didn't watch the movie then I would end up staring and thinking of Edward, which I'm certain that he would notice eventually. I decided to take my chances with the movie. After all there was a possibility that Alice might have taken pity on me and might have chosen a movie that was not that horrifying.

I should've known that that was just a fantasy. Since when did Alice ever take my whims into consideration? The movie Alice had selected was frightening to the point that I averted my face from the screen several times and jumped ten miles into the air numerously. I could tell that this was distracting to everyone else as they kept throwing me irritated glowers whenever I made a disruption but I couldn't help it. They knew what horror movies did to me and yet they had insisted on watching one so if they were so fixated on a horror movie then they can suffer my horrified reactions.

When the climax of the movie peaked and struck a terrified response in me, I unthinkingly buried my head into the chest of the person who was sitting so close to me that it was only a matter of averting my face and inclining it forwards for me to cringe into their chest. It was only when the person encircled me with their long, strong arms that my actions caught up with me. I peeked up through my lashes to see Edward looking down at me with a lopsided grin.

He leaned down to whisper in my ear with his arms still around me "I told you I would protect you".

I blushed and tried to extricate myself from his arms but he only tightened his grip on me and murmured "The others have fallen asleep, apart from Jasper and he's not even paying attention to the movie so you don't have to watch."

I lifted my head to see that Emmet and Rosalie were curled up together fast asleep and Alice had her head on Jasper's shoulder whilst her eyes were closed. Jasper was awake but Edward was right, he wasn't paying any attention to the movie as he was too busy staring down at Alice with love-struck eyes. I knew that Alice would have loved to have been able to see the adoration in his eyes for herself but I wasn't going to take the risk of snapping a picture. Alice was an extremely light sleeper and me whipping out my cell phone would most likely startle Jasper which would effectively ruin the tenderness of the moment.

I turned back to Edward to see him yawn hugely. I remained silent and tried to be as still as possible in the hope that that might help him drift into sleep more easily and quickly. Edward's arms were an iron cage around me so I couldn't release myself, so as Edward didn't seem to have a problem with it I rested my head on his chiselled chest and remained there without any idea as to when I would be able to disengage myself, not that I had any complaints about that.

There was a peaceful silence in the room, well except for Emmet's loud snores that sounded more and more like a chainsaw with each passing minute. I felt Edward's head drop slowly and gently upon my hair indicating that Jasper and I were the only ones awake in the room. My eyes flickered to Jasper and Alice and as I met Jasper's eyes a current of understanding passed between us. We were the only ones awake whilst our true loves slumbered beside us and yet neither of us desired any conversation whilst everyone else slept as we were both content with just watching our loves sleep.

Edward's arms were still around my waist but they were now loose and hung limply around my waist whilst I felt his chest breathe in and out under my head. The side of his head was now resting on top of mine with his cheek pressed into my hair.

I thought it most likely that Edward would get a neck ache sleeping in his current position. I gently and very carefully removed my head from his chest so that his head was still on top of mine. Jasper seemed to sense my predicament and he cautiously disentangled himself from Alice, placing a pillow under her head and a blanket on top of her before he came towards me and helped get Edward off of me so that we could place him in a more ideal position.

When the two of us finally succeeded in getting Edward in an almost horizontal position (I say almost because we had only managed to get his torso lying on the couch but his legs were still on the floor) with his bronze coloured head resting in my lap with a blanket thrown over the two of us, Jasper returned to Alice on the opposite armchair.

I smiled whimsically as I watched Edward sleep. It seemed like a lifetime ago when Edward's head had rested in my lap on the park bench after he had just murdered his father. There was no moonlight shining upon us right now but that wasn't the only thing that had changed since that last time when the two of us had been sitting together in this position. Edward was now an orphan adopted by the Cullens who I knew would do everything in their power to make Edward happy and we were more intimate than ever.

I had felt that ever since Edward had left jail we had become closer. I had loved him for a while now but now my love was of a more compassionate nature. I had seen him suffer and had remained by his side loyally, suffering with him. Edward seemed to have been gratified by that and sought my comfort and solace more than that of anyone else. Although it wasn't the same as loving and to be loved in return, it was good enough for me.

I ran my hands through his soft, disarrayed, bronze coloured locks relishing in the satin soft texture. I suddenly felt his body twitch. I gazed at his face avidly and watched his features twitch and turn agitated almost as though he were having a nightmare…

EPOV

'_I stumbled around in the darkness, trying to feel with my hands where on Earth I was. _

_A lamp suddenly came on revealing the mother that was sitting under it with her five year old son. My mother. With a five year old me on her lap. _

_I stared on in wonder as I heard her say to the younger version of me "__You're my son, Edward and I love you, which is why I have switched on the lamp for you because I don't want you to be scared. But Edward, just remember, there is nothing to fear in the darkness, but there is more to fear in the light because unlike the darkness, light can show you everything, even the stuff you don't want to see, whereas the darkness can hide your troubles and fears from your eyes"_

_The five year old boy that was a past imprint of myself had now fallen asleep. But not without hearing those puzzling words from his mother- my mother, our mother- nor did he miss the expression on her face as she said this. It was the saddest expression he had ever seen and he wished that he had been dreaming that he never saw such an expression on his beloved mother's face._

_I knew that this was what the boy was feeling as he was me from my most painful and precious memory. My mother who had just a moment ago been gazing at the slumbering, five year old me now looked up and met my eyes evenly as though she had known I had been standing there the whole time._

"_Goodbye Edward." She said before she suddenly disappeared, leaving the five year old me resting in the armchair. Alone. _

"_Goodbye" I whispered_

_Suddenly, the five year old me woke up slowly, rubbing his eyes as he tried to rub the fatigue out of them. He gazed around him and began to whimper pitifully as he called in a terrified voice:_

"_Mom! Where did you go?" _

_I watched wanting to comfort the five year old me but I found that my feet had apparently lost the ability to move upon command._

_I saw my younger self turn towards me with a lost and pleading look on his face as he whispered to me "Please tell me where my mommy is?"_

"_I don't know" I whispered back._

_I watched in mortified horror as I saw my five year old self whimper dejectedly before he began to cry. This time my feet moved of its own accord impulsively and I was by my younger self's side comforting him as he wept into my shoulder. _

"_Shush. Please don't cry." I begged. _

"_Why did she go?" I heard my younger self wail desperately. _

_I felt my own heart shatter as I searched fruitlessly for an answer that I could give him as well as myself._

"_Shush. You know she loves you. I know she does. I know for a fact that she loves you. She loves both of us. With all her heart." I endeavoured to pacify the boy._

_He sniffled and his sobs quietened as he took solace in my words. I found that my own words were strangely consoling to myself. I knew now as I must have known all along that Elizabeth Mason had always loved her son._

"_Oh, boohoo. Enough with this lovey dovey junk" I heard an all too familiar voice rasp drunkenly. _

_I looked up as did the five year old me to see John Mason leering down at the two of us with an evil gleam in his muddy brown eyes. _

"_What are you doing here?" I growled maliciously. _

"_Just here to have a little fun." John Mason slurred but I caught the glint of a knife in his hand as his eyes focused on the five year old me. _

_The five year old me cringed into my shoulder and John laughed as he saw this which only infuriated me. _

"_Time to teach you a lesson you little cry baby" John cackled as he started forward for the five year old me. _

_I was not going to let him come anywhere near this small, defenceless boy who was, I know a younger version of myself. But he was only five and therefore had no chance of protecting himself against John. I was going to protect him. John wasn't going to hurt anyone today, not while I'm standing here, alive. There was a sharp glass fragment by my side and I grabbed it before plunging it into John Mason's chest. Blood seeped through the fabric of his shirt, spreading everywhere but John only grinned victoriously as he sneered:_

"_That ain't going to work a second time, wimp." _

_He laughed manically as he suddenly lifted the knife and began to bring it whistling down towards where my heart beat frantically in my chest…_

I jerked awake drenched in sweat, and my heart racing at a hundred miles a minute only to see Bella's face inches away from my own.

"Edward, what's wrong? Were you having a nightmare?" Bella questioned worriedly.

"I've been having nightmares ever since John died and they haven't stopped yet." I managed to rasp throatily.

"You're not still feeling guilty about everything, are you?" Bella enquired sternly.

"No I'm not. John Mason got what was coming to him." I answered bitterly.

Perhaps it was due to the nightmare I had just had that the passionate hatred I harboured for that swine bag, John Mason came torpedoing through me like a missile.

"I'm sorry you're having nightmares, Edward. I wish there was something I could do." Bella lamented sincerely.

I turned to gaze at her intently as I told her gently "You've already done so much for me, Bella. You have been my fallen angel from heaven and I couldn't possibly be more grateful to fate for blessing me with you. I appreciate everything you've done for me and I-"I abruptly stopped for three words that had been so foreign to me for my whole life was just about to escape my lips.

Bella stared up at me curiously.

"You've already done enough, Bella. You should go to sleep now." I told her abruptly without looking at her.

Bella threw me one inquisitive look before she shrugged and buried herself into a blanket and pillow. She soon fell asleep and I left myself to my thoughts.

I had been just about to say to Bella 'I love you'. The words came to my mind so naturally as I expressed my gratitude to her that they had almost escaped my lips had I not rebuffed myself just in time. I had felt so fond and grateful for Bella at that moment and now as I thought I realized that I couldn't imagine a life without Bella.

I looked down at Bella sleeping. She looked like an angel sent down from heaven as her mahogany hair fanned out behind her on the pillow and her lush, pink lips were slightly parted just begging me to kiss them.

I stopped at that thought. Had I honestly just confessed to a desire to kiss Bella? I gazed down at her again and saw how truly breath-taking she was. She had been my shining beacon of hope through the last couple of weeks of my life that were the worst I had ever endured. She had been loyal to me and had trusted me, striving to help me with a determination that had dazzled me. She truly was my fallen angel from heaven and…I loved her. Yes, I loved her with all my heart.

She was beautiful and she was perfect. She was kind, caring, thoughtful, brave, compassionate, and dazzlingly perfect.

As I watched her sleep, I now realized that I knew two things that I had not known when I had woken up this morning. Number one. My mother had always loved me from my birth right till her death. Number two. I was in love with Bella and I would tell her that soon.

"Edward" I heard a voice say clearly.

I looked back down at Bella thinking that she had woken but her eyes were closed and she was still breathing softly. I had forgotten that Bella talked in her sleep. I smiled broadly as I realized that Bella must be dreaming of me.

"Edward" I heard her say again.

I leaned down and kissed the skin on her smooth, soft cheek. I let my lips linger there as I whispered:

"Good night, my Bella, my angel. My love."

My breath fanned out against her cheek but she smiled and sighed contentedly as I lay back down on the couch under the blankets next to my Bella. My one and only true love.

**So, Edward has finally realized that he loves Bella! Come on, happy squeals people! I hope you're all going to give me lots and lots of reviews now that I have finally made Edward realize. I also tried to make the chapter as sweet as I could so please let me know what you thought. Also, try and read my other story 'If Only'.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Why did I not get more reviews for the chapter that most of you had been clamouring me for ages? If that's what's going to happen for the sequel 'Too Late' then I will probably stop writing fanfictions and just go back to saving my own stories on my laptop like I used to before I was introduced to this site. Anyway, enough sulking on my behalf, the few (and when I say few I mean few) of you that did read and review the last chapter can go on to reading this chapter. Oh and by the way this is the last chapter, the end, une grande finale, and then it will be on to the sequel. Well, it will be if I get more reviews for this chapter. Now I'll let you get on with this chapter while I go and sulk in the corner, the one with the dust and cobwebs, on second thoughts maybe not **_**that**_** corner. There might be spiders there. **

**Chapter 27**

BPOV

A week had flown past since the movie night. Why was I counting the days since that night? I was not sure. I had some odd vibe that that night held something significant in it; that something unknown to me had happened that would have some impact on me. Whether I still had all of my sanity was irrelevant to me right now as a disaster was now upon me. My eighteenth birthday. And Alice's plans for the event.

She was talking celebrations right now, yammering on non-stop about what she had planned. My birthday was today but luckily I with Jasper's help had managed to reason with Alice to mellow down my birthday celebration but knowing Alice, it would most probably be an extravaganza. Alice had agreed to not make my birthday too big of a deal. How did I manage to pull of this miracle? I didn't. Edward had been the saviour. Alice had been fixated on a tremendously long guests list for the huge marquee she would have in the Cullen's back yard.

Nothing I had said had been able to deter her but then Edward had pulled Alice aside to have a 'private chat'. He pulled her aside, and all I heard was his quiet musical voice and a lot of overjoyed squealing from Alice which was puzzling in itself. Next thing I knew Alice had decided on a small celebration with just Charlie, me, and all the Cullens and the Hales, and a couple of friends which meant that Alice had whittled the guests list down to only about twenty people which was an achievement as she had been preparing for fifty or more.

I had requested Edward to explain to me his technique of getting Alice to listen to him for future reference but Edward had just shook his head and told me that he would tell me another time. The date of that other time still remained a mystery to me.

Anyway, getting back to Alice's plans for my birthday. The festivities were to begin from late afternoon till late in the night. As usual she insisted on getting me ready herself. She arrived at my house at precisely noon to adorn me for what she claimed to be "the best birthday of your life". I doubted it. It was only thanks to Edward's chivalrous success of eliminating Alice's long guests list that I knew that I would be able to tolerate any of what Alice had planned for me.

I had prepared myself for the most expensive, ostentatious clothes imaginable which was why I was so staggered when I saw that what Alice had resolved for me to wear today was something quite simple, well, for her. My definition of simple was plain jeans and a top with old trainers whereas Alice's simple classified as something not made for balls, dances, and parties.

The stern look on Alice's face told me that if I did not put the clothes on without questions then there would be trouble. So I took the clothes wordlessly and got dressed and was shocked to find how much I loved what I saw in the mirror. Alice had decked me in black skinny jeans, a grey slinky top that looked to be made of satin or silk that had soft folds flaring out in elegant lines on my waist, it had a knot on the front just under the neck of the top; she had also given me a half sleeved stone coloured waist jacket that had a belt at the front with a total of six buttons that were positioned in two columns. **(A/N All articles of clothing have pictures on my profile, except for the jeans as I am sure you all know what that looks like).**

The ensemble was understated for the attention magnet of the birthday party but it was simple and stylish which was a look I would love to adorn every day. Alice had sidled up behind me without my knowledge, whilst I had been staring at my reflection in the mirror and enquired in my ear in a loud voice that made me shriek in surprise:

"So do you like it?"

Once I had restarted my heart at a reasonable enough pace I answered "Yeah, I love it. I was so sure you'd put me in some expensive frilly dress that I'm actually surprised you put me in something simple."

Alice beamed as she explained "It might be simple but it's stylish. I know you would prefer simple but you don't know the first thing about fashion and since it's your birthday, I thought that I would dress you in something I knew you would love and wear more than just once. I want you to have the best birthday ever and the first step to that is putting you in something that you would love because if you feel good in what you're wearing then you feel good for the rest of the day, that is until someone spills something on you but if anyone does that while you're wearing those clothes, then I can guarantee that that'll be the last nail on their coffin."

"Alice, I will never understand how you manage to say so much at once." I remarked, shaking my head.

"Wow, you must like those clothes because you haven't even complained once." Alice commented pleasantly.

"Well, if you dress me like this more often then I wouldn't mind you choosing my wardrobe on a regular basis" I admitted honestly.

Alice's eyes twinkled as she broke into a wide, radiant smile as she said "Really, Bella? If I choose clothes like that all the time then would you really let me choose your entire wardrobe?"

Realizing my blunder I swiftly asked "Shouldn't we be going to your house now? I mean, we wouldn't want to be late for the party we're hosting."

Alice's expression was aghast as she reproached me "Bella, you do not look like the star of today and you know that. We have to do your hair and make-up to make up for how simple your clothes are."

"What? Alice, no! I already look great. Can't we just forget about the rest and go?" I pleaded.

"Well, I'm glad you think you look great now because when I'm done with you, you're going to look fantastic! Now sit down quietly like a good girl before I poke you in the eye with this eyeliner" Alice said, brandishing something scary-looking in her hand.

I sighed. I sometimes wondered why I even bothered to try to fight Alice. She always won. I sat down and let Alice commence her torture that she called 'her magic'. When Alice had finally finished pinning my hair in long ringlets that she tied up in a bun with long, curly tendrils hanging from it that framed my face perfectly, we both left for the Cullens' mansion.

Alice might not have invited a hundred people but she certainly went overboard with the decorations. I had entered the Cullens' back garden only to see a huge banner that had the words 'Happy Birthday Bella' painted in neon and elegant but bold script with fairy lights lining the words, I knew that as soon darkness settled over the garden then those fairy lights would be shining brightly causing the words on the banner to become even more prominent. There was a long table on the far side of the garden that had legs carved with intricate patterns. Bouquets of lilies, freesias, roses (the roses were in a variety of colours in case you were wondering) and other lovely flowers were bunched up at several different places in the garden, balanced on tall, glass tables that only had space on it for a single bouquet. There were several of these tables dotting the garden, each with an individual beautiful bouquet of flowers on it.

When Alice and I had arrived, the party was in full swing and Alice was racing around, attending to guests and making sure that everyone was enjoying themselves. Everyone that is, but the birthday girl who was standing awkwardly in the corner with a glass of orange juice in her hand, whilst vowing that her birthday wish would be for a hole to swallow her up before her next birthday so that she won't ever have to endure all of this again. Happy stinking birthday to me.

Rosalie and Emmet were real party animals so they would enjoy this just as much as Alice. Jasper was more reserved and would feel just as awkward as me at this event were it not for Alice. My usual companion during Alice's torture sessions for me was Edward but he didn't seem to have arrived yet. This struck me as odd as Edward lived here now so I couldn't help but wonder what could possibly be keeping him but I didn't want to ruin anyone's fun by pestering them with questions about Edward's continued absence so I stood quietly in a corner, waiting for him to finally make an entrance.

Alice seemed to have finally noticed my lack of sociable mingling at my own party. But I think everyone was under the impression that Alice was the host which was the exact same impression I had had which was by all means perfectly fine by me. It guaranteed my absence from the limelight. That didn't seem to please Alice as she soon raced to my side and demanded:

"Why are you just standing there? Go and mingle with your guests"

"Alice, they are your guests. You organised this party without my consent so I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to enjoy this the way I want." I argued.

Then doing a quick inspection of the garden and after still not catching even one glimpse of bronze hair I turned to Alice and asked "Where is Edward? He lives here now so shouldn't he be here by now?"

A mischievous glint flashed in Alice's eyes but before I could decipher anything else she shrugged and answered "I don't know. He might be getting your present."

Just as I was about to respond Rosalie appeared behind Alice as she exclaimed excitedly "Alice. It's time. Let's go."

I snapped my head around to stare at Rosalie as I asked suspiciously with a little sharpness pricking my voice "Time for what? Where are you going?"

I didn't see any justice in the fact that they got to leave this party and go anywhere they wanted while I had to stay here and sulk in the corner. Alice smiled slyly as she replied:

"Oh, we're not going anywhere. But you are."

Then before I could question her about her enigmatic response Rosalie was tying a blindfold around my head, covering my eyes.

"What are you doing? I can't see a thing" I protested.

"Silly Bella. That's the point. You're not supposed to be able to see anything" Alice told me with a laugh.

"Oh and if you even try to take the blindfold off then I will bite your hand off" Rosalie threatened lightly.

Then the next thing I knew, I felt hands on my shoulders pushing me forward and guiding me through the hordes of the party guests until the blare of music was no longer ringing in my ears. Thich told me that we were no longer at the birthday party that Alice had organised against my will. I gave up asking Rosalie and Alice where they were taking me as every time I asked they refused to tell me with laughs that made me feel like that I was being left out on a huge secret.

Eventually, I no longer felt Rosalie's hands on my shoulders propelling me onwards. We had come to a stop and I was now just standing somewhere waiting for Rosalie and Alice to remove the blindfold from my face. But ten minutes or so passed with me standing somewhere, still blindfolded. I heard the chirp and light song of birds that must have been circling overhead and I then felt a light breeze that blew across my bare arms, making me shiver.

"Rosalie, Alice. Can you please take the blindfold off of me so that I can see where I am? It's starting to get cold and I still can't see where I am" I said loudly.

After receiving no response at all I called "Rosalie! Alice! Where are you?"

I was starting to get the feeling that they weren't here wherever 'here' was. Impatience finally overtaking me, I tore the blindfold off of my face and threw it onto the floor. They had tied the blindfold over my eyes so tightly that black dots swirled before my eyes for a couple of moments. When I could finally see properly, I first saw that I was indeed alone and then when I took in my surroundings I gasped.

I was standing in a beautiful meadow. It was circular with blossom trees, oak trees, chestnut trees, and many other types of trees rooted into the ground at various places, buttery sunshine was falling down into the centre of the meadow. Violets, daffodils, tulips, and lots of other flowers carpeted the grass in a rainbow of coloured petals, and I could hear the steady gush of a waterfall in the distance.

I gazed about me with awestruck eyes when my eyes fell upon a huge blossom tree. There was nothing very remarkable in the tree except someone had carved into the bark with infinite detail and delicacy: _'There is a beautiful angel blessed upon my life, forever fluttering in my mind and in my heart with soft, gentle wings and…' _

That was it. That was all that anyone had carved into the tree. What was carved on the tree was so sweet and endearing that I found myself wondering what was the rest of the sentence. But why had Rosalie and Alice brought me here and then left me alone? Was this some joke they were playing on me?

"Alice! Rosalie!" I tried calling one more time.

"There is an angel blessed upon my life, forever fluttering in my mind and in my heart with soft, gentle wings and you are that perfect angel that I love with all my heart." I heard a soft, musical voice say sweetly from behind me.

I swivelled around to see Edward standing a couple of paces away from me with a sunny smile that just made my heart start thudding frantically against my chest. His words echoed again and again in my ears and I finally managed to croak:

"You carved those words into the tree?"

Edward's smile broadened and he walked the short distance between us until he was standing right in front of me with our chests just barely touching.

"Yes, my Bella. You are that perfect angel that I love with all my heart. I love you. Do you love me too?" Edward said softly with such gentleness that my breath hitched in my throat as he placed his forehead on top of mine.

"Do you love me?" Edward murmured, his sweet breath caressing my face.

Twilight glowed dimly above us on the tops of the tree. The reds, oranges, and purples touched Edward's bronze hair and standing in this beautiful, twilit meadow with Edward's forehead resting on top of mine while he confessed that he loved me, the only thing I could do was whisper dreamily:

"Yes, Edward. I love you. I love you with everything in me."

Edward smiled crookedly before he closed the few centimetres between our lips and kissed me sweetly and…lovingly. When we finally pulled away he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver chain where a locket hung from it. The locket was in the shape of a circle but had a miniature picture of an angel patterned onto it, tiny rubies made up the angel's hair, two sapphires the size of dots were used for her eyes, and her wings were made from silver crystals whilst diamonds scattered the rest of the locket. On the back of the locket pendant inscribed into it were the words "For my angel, Bella". **(A/N I don't know if a locket like that exists, I just imagined it up myself because it fits in here really well). **

"It's your present. You can put any picture you want in it." Edward told me as I stared at it in my palm wondrously.

"Edward, it's beautiful. You must've paid a fortune for it! I can't accept this!" I exclaimed.

Edward laughed as he argued triumphantly "Actually, you'll have to accept it because it has your name engraved on it. Besides, it's not new, not completely anyway. It was my mother's. I just had to get it cleaned to make it look more new so I only had to pay to get the words engraved. It's not much but I knew you wouldn't accept anything I paid a lot for so that locket was the best I could think off and I thought that the angel fits you."

Edward's words were getting more and more worried and pained so I quickly reassured him "Edward, stop worrying. I love it. It's beautiful and if you're sure you hadn't spent a lot on it then I'll keep it."

"I thought it was the perfect gift for you. You are my angel, Bella. You were loyal to me through every minute of the last couple of weeks. You helped free me and you've always been there for me. You're perfect and you have saved me in more ways than I can count. I couldn't help but realize that I love you when I thought about all of this. I love you more than anything else in the world, Bella." Edward confessed.

Tears pricked my eyes upon his words and I couldn't stop myself from flinging my arms around his neck and attacking his mouth with mine. When we finally broke apart Edward smiled a gorgeous crooked smile that instantly shined all of his love for me at once and I beamed at him in response.

"Would you like me to put that locket on for you?" Edward asked softly.

I nodded and I turned so that he could take the locket from my hand and put it around my neck. His long, gentle fingers brushed my neck and lingered at places as he clasped his beautiful gift on my neck.

"You look beautiful. Every bit like an angel." Edward complimented me lovingly as he pressed his lips against mine briefly.

"Come on. We had better get back before Alice gets annoyed" Edward said as he slid his hand into mine. I smiled at our joined hands and he smiled back.

As we walked back to the Cullens's house, still holding hands I touched the locket around my neck, tracing the rubies in the angel's hair. I smiled as I contemplated the love with which Edward had gifted me with this. I vowed right then and there that I would wear this locket every day of my life. Close to my heart.

Alice raced out of the front door of the house to meet us, excitement radiating off of her in huge waves.

"How did it go? Are you two together now?" Alice demanded.

"By some miracle, Alice, it turns out that Bella loves me just as I love her" Edward answered with a breathtaking smile at me.

I was certain that my ears would never be the same after the scream we received from Alice.

Just then, Esme emerged from out of her house and with a motherly smile at me asked:

"Are you enjoying your birthday Bella?"

"Yes. It has been the best birthday ever" I answered.

The happy scream we got from Alice was deafening. She was overjoyed to hear me say that and so I hadn't the heart to tell her that I wasn't looking at her when I had said that but at Edward who at that moment bent his head down close to my ear and whispered:

"Happy birthday, my Bella. My love."

**That's it. The end of For Your Sake. Sorry everybody, no epilogue. But there will be a sequel. Remember, it will be called 'Too Late'. Have that title in your head. Review please. **


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